Say Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose - Tony Orlando & Dawn (1973) 1/23/23

When "Dawn's New Ragtime Follies" album was released in 1973, it not only paid tribute to a popular musical genre from the early 1900s, it brought it back to the forefront, with the initial single, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" dominating the airwaves and reaching #1 in 10 countries, including the US, UK, and Canada.

We highlighted "Ribbon" back on 6/14/21.

So how did Tony, Telma and Joyce follow up such a unique song? They went back to the album and released "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose."

And talk about "unique!" The song was about a housewife who left her husband and kids to become a stripper in New Orleans.

Note for you youngsters: The name "Gypsy Rose" was a homage to real-life stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.--whose story is told in the Broadway musical "Gypsy.")

On the surface, it seemed to be a ridiculous choice for a single in the 1970s...but radio audiences were obviously still in the mood for ragtime music--and let's face it, the song is FUN!

And here's some FUN with numbers: The song went to: #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart #2 on Canada's matching chart #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 #4 on Canada's Top 40

Tony Orlando and Dawn had done it again: scored a "Great Ragtime Song of 1973" with "Say Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBEER06xrx8