"Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" is a 1973 song by the American pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn. Written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown, it was included on the group's 1973 album, Dawn's New Ragtime Follies.

History The songwriting duo of Levine and Brown had also penned other Tony Orlando and Dawn hits, including "Knock Three Times" and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree". According to Orlando, Levine was a fan of singer Al Jolson and proposed the concept of "Say, Has Anybody Seen..." to producer Hank Medress. Orlando is quoted as saying: "Irwin Levine, the lyricist of the two, had this love for Jolson. He said, 'Hank, I'd like to write some songs that could have been written in the early 1900s.'"Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 127. With this concept in mind, the songwriters, producers and musicians began creating Dawn's New Ragtime Follies.

Lyric content The selection is narrated by a husband seeking his wife in New Orleans, Louisiana. Shocked and in disbelief that his wife, named Mary Jo, would abandon him and their children to join a burlesque show at "The Land Of Dreams," a New Orleans strip joint, where she calls herself "Sweet Gypsy Rose," he devotes himself to searching for her. He hopes to convince her to give up her activities as a stripper and return to their home and family.

Release and reception Officially credited as being performed by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando and released as the lead single from the aforementioned album, "Say, Has Anybody Seen..." became the group's fourth top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1973, peaking at #3.Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 472. The song spent three weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in August and September of that year. It reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart at roughly the same time,Official Charts Company info OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 16 June 2009. and made it to #2 on the Australian pop chart. It was later used as the intro song for a section called "Gipsy Rose Dick" as part of the CBBC programme "Dick and Dom's Hoopla."

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1973)PeakpositionArgentina18Australia (Kent Music Report)2Canada RPM Top Singles4Canada RPM Adult Contemporary2UK (OCC) 12US Billboard Hot 100Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - 3US Billboard Adult Contemporary1US Cash Box Top 1004

Year-end charts Chart (1973)RankAustralia25Canada55US Billboard Hot 100http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1973.htm Musicoutfitters.com34US Cash Box17

Cover versions Also in 1973, Terry Stafford included the song on the 7" single release of his hit, "Amarillo by Morning."

David Alan Grier performed it for a sketch in Amazon Women on the Moon.

See also List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1973 (U.S.) List of Top 25 singles for 1973 in Australia

References

External links US 7" single info Discogs.com