Halfway to Paradise
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
He's known the world over for his heyday with Dawn, but that glittering 1970's whirl was just one chapter in Tony Orlando's rich life. Orlando began his showbiz career as a teen heartthrob with the single "Halfway to Paradise" and had a second successful act as a record company A&R man before he was lured back into the limelight as a performer. Fans from the l960s to the present day have loved his voice, his stage presence and his hits, like "Knock Three Times" and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree."
Now, Tony has written an autobiography as warm and heartfelt as his songs. Halfway to Paradise is rich with stories from the music world-from doo wop to the disco era, from early recording with Gerry Goffin and Carole King to recent concerts in Branson, Missouri and across the United States. It's also full of behind-the-scenes detail of how it felt to be at the top of the entertainment heap-with his #1-rated CBS show, Tony's life in front of and behind the camera was grand, but sometimes not all it seemed. Orlando succumbed to one of the familiar antidotes to the pressures of a big life: drug use, with its predictable toll on family and friendships. And even as his career was soaring, he was unable to save his best friend Freddie Prinze from a fatal downward spiral.
With a return to roots-and to the close-knit family that has always sustained him-Tony restored the order and creativity that have allowed him to thrive through four decades of exuberant entertaining. Halfway to Paradise is a wise, funny and spirited life story, and a must-read memoir for fans.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Forever guaranteed a spot in pop culture history thanks to the 1973 anthem, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," singer Tony Orlando attempts to present a more three-dimensional portrait of his life in this often sentimental, occasionally dishy autobiography. From his New York childhood, to his short-lived career as a teen idol in the 1960s, to his 1970s variety show with backup group Dawn, one thing remains clear: Orlando is obsessed with show business and star-struck by celebrities. He rhapsodizes about the "superstar essence" of everyone from Connie Francis to Muhammad Ali (and regrets that he himself "never had it"). After meeting Minnie Pearl, Orlando writes, she "became part of my being." The book's final third gets darker as Orlando describes his cocaine addiction and friendship with the troubled comedian Freddie Prinze. While probably only true Orlando fans will enjoy reading about the minutia of the singer's career, there's still enough to keep True Hollywood Story addicts interested: drugs, suicide, a mental hospital, infidelity, divorce and a happy ending-in Branson, Missouri, no less-to top it all off. One 16-page b&w photo insert.
