Namesakes #192: Dawn

Welcome to a new day. But are any of these Dawns worth getting up for...?

DAWN #1

We start with this "East Coast" (I'm guessing New York, not Scarborough) act from the mid-60s, occasionally partnered with Billy, as seen above, although here she is on her own...

Dawn - Can't Get Him Off My Mind

DAWN #2

Philadelphia radio station WIBG (known affectionately as Wibbage) published its own promo magazines featuring charts and articles about the artists they were playing. Here's a quote from the July 15, 1967 issue...

"Dawn, Hailing from South Philadelphia, is a 16 year-old St. Maria Goretti sophomore who has had several releases that didn't happen but is climbing local and nationals charts with 'I'm Afraid They're All Talking About Me.' Dawn recently ran 5th in the Wibbage favourite artist contest, placing with names like The Monkees, The Supremes, The Beatles and The Four Seasons. Because of the great popularity of 'I'm Afraid They're All Talking About Me.' Laurie Records is planning an album soon."

I'm afraid they stopped talking about her soon after.

Dawn - I'm Afraid They're All Talking About Me

DAWN #3

New York singer Tony Orlando had been releasing records throughout the 60s with limited success, becoming a music exec in the latter part of the decade. It was a this point that he came across the song Candida, which had been rejected by other artists, by Tony thought could be a hit. Due to a conflict of interest, he couldn't record the track under his own name, so he created the alias Frankie Spinelli, drafted in a backing group (including Brill Building songwriter Cynthia Weil and Jay Siegel from The Tokens) and released the track incognito. Following the success of Candida, Dawn went on to record an entire album - including Number One hit Knock Three Times - with the true identities of the performers remaining hidden.

Demand increased for the band to go on tour, at which point Orlando drafter in two former Motown/Stax vocalists, Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson, and finally revealed his true identity to the world. After this, the band became known as Dawn featuring Tony Orlando, and eventually Tony Orlando & Dawn... I think we can all work out what was going on there. When they Tied A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree in 1973, they had the best-selling single in the UK charts for that year.  

Fortunately, my favourite track by these guys is their earlier Number One, from when they were just called Dawn...

Dawn - Knock Three Times

DAWN #4

Lovers' Rock, from 1981. It's possible they once swallowed a fly.

Dawn - I Don't Know Why

DAWNN #5

Funky thangs with an extra N from New York in 1984...

Dawnn - Funky Thang

THE DAWN #6

Starting in 1987, and still kicking around last year, "The Dawn is considered the longest-lived and most prolific rock band in the Philippines" according to somebody on discogs with editing privileges. 

The Dawn - Enveloped Ideas

DAWN #7

Late 80s soul, possibly from Detroit, produced by Doris Dozier who might be related to Lamont, or might just be a Namesake. Still, former Maths teachers might appreciate the sentiment...

Dawn - Teacher, Teacher

DAWN #8

Housey housey stuff from 1993. Better than most of its ilk, because I like the piano.

Other Housey Housey acts called Dawn were available... but I spared you.

Dawn - Freedom

DAWN #9

Swedish Death Metal band from the 90s. Fans still complain of migraines, 30 years later.

Other Death Metal bands called Dawn were available... but I spared you.

Dawn - The Knell And The World

DAWN #10

And if that was too loud for you, try some symphonic prog from Switzerland in 1996.

Dawn - Rain On The Moon

THE DAWN #11

Dawn With A Smile On Their Face. British "heavy-psych band" from the late 90s. Sounding a bit like early The Verve, only with louder guitars.

The Dawn - Five Days Wiser

THE DAWN #12

Danish pop-rock band from 1998, fortunately not covering the Black Lace song.

The Dawn - Superman

DAWN #13

Danish trance-producer "who began listening to electronic music at the age of 3." There ought to be a law. 

Dawn - Luna

DAWN #14

Dawn to be wild. Japanese punk band from 2015.

Dawn - Nothing

DAWN #15

Aussie "Stoner Doom" from 2016. "From the murky depths of the abyss, heavy riffs and slow mesmeric hymns are celebrated." If I were stoned, I'd rather listen to Creedence.

Dawn - Zombies

DAWN #16

K-pop Dawn dude, big with da Tiktok crowd. Tiktok will melt your brain, by the way, and prevent you from being able to engage with anything longer than 30 seconds. I would tell you this, but if you regularly use TikTok, you gave up reading this post a long time ago.

Dawn - Money

DAWN #17

And finally, an LA rapper from last year...

Dawn - A Flex

Would you have been better off staying in bed?