1974 Feel-Good Chart Smash Revived a Big, Upbeat Pop Sound That Defined a Generation

It might have been 1974, but this feel-good pop hit reached way back in time for its sound, and that’s exactly what made it stand out.

Tony Orlando and Dawn captured the radio-friendly era of the early part of the ’70s with a string of hits that were catchy and unforgettable. By the time they released “Steppin’ Out (Boogie Tonight)” they were already a force to be reckoned with on the Billboard charts.

The singing group released a string of hits such as “Candida,” “Knock Three Times,” “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree,” “Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose,” and “Who’s in the Strawberry Patch With Sally” before hitting the charts in 1974 with a song that revived a Ragtime style of music popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

“Steppin’ Out (Boogie Tonight)” was written by the group’s longtime songwriters Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and was included on their 1973 album, Dawn’s New Ragtime Follies.

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The LP was an eclectic mix of Vaudevillian ragtime, pop, and disco music. It became Tony Orlando and Dawn’s best-selling LP upon its release.

The 1974 song tells the story of a heartbroken but resilient dreamer. Instead of mourning the loss of a love who’s getting married, he decides to hit the town and boogie.

RELATED: 1973 Nostalgic Hit Topped the Charts —Now It’s Named One of the Decade’s Best

In a 2014 interview with Smashing Interviews, Orlando reflected on his historic success in the music industry and the influence Tony Orlando and Dawn had on a generation of music fans.

“My whole purpose is to take my career and turn it into good. All of the show business stuff that you read in magazines means nothing to me,” he said.

“But what does mean something to me is what good I can do with this career and how much money I can raise for veterans, which I’ve done for 40 years since ‘Yellow Ribbon’ came out in 1973,” he said.

“If I can’t take the blessings that God gave me with this so-called career or celebrity or fame or whatever comes with show business and turn it into something really profitable, which is to help people with health issues have better lives, then my career was worthless.”

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Tony Orlando hosts a nationally syndicated weekend radio show, Rockin’ the Decades with Tony Orlando, on the Red Apple Audio Networks.

MORE: 1971 Chart-Topper Turned a Tale of Unrequited Love Into a Nostalgic Pop Hit