Knock Three Times - wikipedia Knock Three Times For other uses, see Knock three times ( disambiguation ). `` Knock Three Times '' Single by Tony Orlando & Dawn from the album Candida B - side `` Home '' Released November 1970 Format 7 '' Genre Pop Length 2 : 57 Label Bell Songwriter ( s ) Irwin Levine L. Russell Brown Producer ( s ) Hank Medress Dave Appel Tony Orlando & Dawn singles chronology `` Candida '' ( 1970 ) `` Knock Three Times '' ( 1970 ) `` What Are You Doing Sunday '' ( 1971 ) `` Candida '' ( 1970 ) `` Knock Three Times '' ( 1971 ) `` What Are You Doing Sunday '' ( 1971 ) `` Knock Three Times '' is a popular song credited to Tony Orlando and Dawn. The actual singers were Tony Orlando, Toni Wine, and Linda November, prior to the creation of `` Dawn '' with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson. The song was released as a single in November 1970, paired with Orlando 's other hit song, `` Candida '' ( also written by Toni Wine ). The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1971 and eventually sold six million copies, also claiming the number - one spot on the UK Singles Chart. The song registered well at Adult Contemporary stations, reaching # 2 on Billboard 's `` Easy Listening '' survey. The composers of this song, L. Russell Brown and Irwin Levine, were thinking of the song Up on the Roof and they wanted to write a song with that kind of lyrical flavor, about tenement living. In the song, the singer has fallen in love with a woman who lives in the apartment directly below him but has no clue as to her interest, so he asks her to respond by either knocking three times on the ceiling ( yes ) or banging twice on the pipe ( no ), and the chorus includes sound effects of the two choices. ( However, the song never states her response. ) Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis was, at the time of the recording, working as a producer / singer for a rival record label, and first heard the tune recorded by another artist and immediately knew the song could be a hit if produced as he envisioned. Cassavitis cut the track under the name `` Tony Orlando '', having to do the studio sessions on the `` down low '' to ensure that his current record label would n't become aware. Upon release, the song, produced as Orlando had envisioned became a great success. Knock Three Times actually sold more than 100,000 records a day in New York City alone for ten straight days. The song appears in several motion pictures including Now and Then. The song was covered by Billy `` Crash '' Craddock in 1971 and became a number three country hit. Manny de Leon of the Philippines sold out in the market when he made his version under Alpha Records. Dolly Parton performed the song on a 1976 episode of her variety series Dolly ! In 1994 the Mexican group Banda Zeta recorded a Spanish versión called `` Toca tres veces '' for their album Jacarandosa. Several Larry Craig - themed parodies ( all titled `` Tap Three Times '' ) were recorded by various artists such as Paul and Storm and The Capitol Steps in 2007 following the senator 's sex scandal in which he was arrested for tapping his foot ( to allegedly solicit sex ) in a public airport restroom. American transgender singer Sherri Demure released a live version of the song, recorded on September 16, 2015 at the Jungle nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia. Contents 1 Chart performance 1.1 Weekly charts 1.2 Year - end charts 2 References 3 External links Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1970 - 71 ) Peak position Australia ( Kent Music Report ) Austria ( Ö3 Austria Top 40 ) 6 Belgium ( VRT Top 30 Flanders ) Canada ( RPM 100 Singles ) Germany ( Official German Charts ) Ireland ( IRMA ) Netherlands ( Dutch Top 40 ) New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) Switzerland ( Schweizer Hitparade ) United Kingdom ( UK Singles Chart US Billboard Hot 100 Year - end charts Chart ( 1971 ) Rank Australia 7 Canada 11 UK U.S. Billboard Hot 100 10 References Jump up ^ Warner, Jay ( 2006 - 05 - 31 ). American singing groups : a history from 1940 to today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 734. ISBN 9780634099786. Retrieved 2012 - 02 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Dawn featuring Tony Orlando ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Behind The Music Season 1 Episodes ( TV Series ) ''. VH1.com. 2015 - 04 - 20. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits : 1944 - 2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 91. Jump up ^ `` Larry Craig : Tap 3 Times ( Parody ) ''. YouTube. 2007 - 10 - 16. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Sen. Larry Craig `` TapThree Times '' ``. YouTube. 2007 - 08 - 29. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Tap Three Times ''. Paul and Storm. 2014 - 06 - 20. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Tap Three Times : Capitol Steps : MP3 Downloads ''. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. Jump up ^ Billboard. Books.google.fr. p. 83. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Austriancharts.at -- Dawn -- Knock Three Times '' ( in German ). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Jump up ^ `` knock three times - dawn ''. VRT ( in Dutch ). Top30-2.radio2.be. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1 Jump up ^ `` Top Singles - Volume 42, No. 22, August 10, 1979 ''. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Offiziellecharts.de -- Dawn -- Knock Three Times ''. GfK Entertainment Charts. Jump up ^ `` Chart Track : Week 9, 1971 ''. Irish Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` Nederlandse Top 40 -- Dawn search results '' ( in Dutch ) Dutch Top 40. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Dawn -- Knock Three Times ''. Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Swisscharts.com -- Dawn -- Knock Three Times ''. Swiss Singles Chart. Jump up ^ Roberts, David ( 2006 ). British Hit Singles & Albums ( 19th ed. ). London : Guinness World Records Limited. p. 143. ISBN 1 - 904994 - 10 - 5. Jump up ^ David Kent 's `` Australian Chart Book 1970 - 1992 '' Archived 2016 - 03 - 05 at Archive.is Jump up ^ `` Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. Jump up ^ Billboard Year - End Hot 100 singles of 1971 Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits of 1971 / Top 100 Songs of 1971 ''. Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 03. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Preceded by `` My Sweet Lord '' / `` Is n't It a Pity '' by George Harrison Billboard Hot 100 number one single January 23, 1971 ( three weeks ) Succeeded by `` One Bad Apple '' by The Osmonds Preceded by `` Double Barrel '' by Dave and Ansell Collins UK Singles Chart number - one single May 15, 1971 ( five weeks ) Succeeded by `` Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep '' by Middle of the Road Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando Telma Hopkins Joyce Vincent Wilson Albums Candida Dawn 's New Ragtime Follies Singles `` Candida '' `` Knock Three Times '' `` Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree '' `` Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose '' `` He Do n't Love You ( Like I Love You ) '' Book : Tony Orlando and Dawn Billy `` Crash '' Craddock Studio albums I 'm Tore Up ( 1964 ) Knock Three Times ( 1971 ) You Better Move On ( 1972 ) Two Sides of `` Crash '' ( 1973 ) Mr. Country Rock ( 1973 ) Rub It In ( 1974 ) Still Thinkin ' ' bout You ( 1975 ) Easy as Pie ( 1976 ) Crash ( 1976 ) Singing Is Believing ( 1978 ) Billy `` Crash '' Craddock ( 1978 ) Turning Up and Turning On ( 1978 ) Laughing and Crying, Living and Dying ( 1979 ) Changes ( 1980 ) The New Will Never Wear Off of You ( 1982 ) Crash Craddock ( 1986 ) Back on Track ( 1989 ) Christmas Favorites ( 2006 ) Compilation albums The Best of Billy `` Crash '' Craddock ( 1973 ) Billy `` Crash '' Craddock ( 1973 ) Greatest Hits Volume One ( 1974 ) The First Time ( 1977 ) Sings His Greatest Hits ( 1978 ) The Best of Billy `` Crash '' Craddock ( 1982 ) Greatest Hits ( 1983 ) Crash 's Greatest Hits ( 1986 ) Boom Boom Baby ( 1992 ) Crash 's Smashes ( 1996 ) Live albums Live ! ( 1977 ) Crash Craddock Live ! ( 1985 ) Live - n - Kickin ' ( 2009 ) Singles `` Do n't Destroy Me '' `` Boom Boom Baby '' `` Knock Three Times '' `` Dream Lover '' `` You Better Move On '' `` Nothin ' Shakin ' ( But the Leaves on the Trees ) '' `` I 'm Gonna Knock on Your Door '' `` Sweet Magnolia Blossom '' `` Rub It In '' `` Ruby Baby '' `` Still Thinkin ' ' bout You '' `` Easy as Pie '' `` Broken Down in Tiny Pieces '' `` A Tear Fell '' Related articles Discography Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knock_Three_Times&oldid=798554123 '' Categories : 1970 singles 1971 singles Tony Orlando songs Billy `` Crash '' Craddock songs Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles UK Singles Chart number - one singles Number - one singles in Australia Songs written by L. Russell Brown Songs written by Irwin Levine Bell Records singles Hidden categories : CS1 Dutch - language sources ( nl ) Webarchive template archiveis links Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2012 Articles with unsourced statements from May 2013 Singlechart usages for Austria Singlechart usages for Germany2 Singlechart usages for Irish Singlechart usages for Dutch40 Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for Swiss Talk Contents About Wikipedia Eesti Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Edit links This page was last edited on 2 September 2017, at 15 : 31. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who sang knock three times on the ceiling if you want me
Answer: Tony Orlando