Irwin Levine (d) & L. Russell Brown

The team of the late Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown wrote some 40 songs, including “Tie a Yellow Ribbon,” a 1973 chart-topper for Tony Orlando and Dawn that was covered by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. It took a life of its own following the American hostage crisis in Iran and has now been recorded over 2000 times. Levine and Brown also wrote other big hits for Orlando and Dawn, including “Knock Three Times” and “Candida,” while Brown also co-wrote hits for others like Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels’ “Sock it to Me, Baby!” and the Four Seasons’ “C,mon Marianne.”

Key songs in the Levine-Brown catalog include “Candida,” “I Woke Up in Love This Morning,” “Knock Three Times,” “Say Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.”

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