Classic showmanship of singer Tony Orlando endures in Vegas

Old-school Las Vegas showmen are a vanishing breed, so we’re lucky some of them got an early start.

Tony Orlando first played the Las Vegas Hilton in 1970, the same year he recorded “Candida” (which was released under the name Dawn, a group he then had to go out and create).

That means the singer who turned 70 on April 3 has played Las Vegas at least once a year for most of the past 44 years.

It’s a true showman who launches the show with his biggest hit, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” engages in drum battles with his band and covers Neil Diamond’s “America.”

Last fall, the resort town of Branson, Mo., collectively thanked Orlando for 20 years of entertaining there when he performed what was billed as his last annual Christmas show in the Ozark mountains where he lives.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.