American singer Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis, known professionally as Tony
Orlando, was born on April 3, 1944, in New York City. He began his musical
career at age 15 with the doo-wop group The Five Gents. In 1961, he released his
first successful singles "Halfway to Paradise" and "Bless You", which charted in
both the United States and the United Kingdom. Orlando's career evolved rapidly;
by 1967, he was signed as a general manager for April-Blackwood Music, a
subsidiary of Columbia Records. He later became vice president of CBS Music,
where he worked with notable artists ...