Nothing rocks harder than a nearly forgotten singer at a State Fair concert on Senior Citizen’s Day.

Tony Orlando, icon of the late 1960s and early 1970s music scene and stranger to most post-Vietnam era children, treated baby-boomers and their elders to a sweet flashback to their youth last night at 7 at the Great New York State Fair. Orlando and his band delivered a rundown of hits, including, ‘Knock Three Times’ and an assortment of cover songs, ranging from Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ to Chubby Checker’s ‘The Twist.’

And while many cowboy-hat wearing concertgoers bypassed Orlando and company at the Chevrolet Court near the main gates to hit the Kenny Chesney concert, more than a thousand fans – only about 10 of which were under the age of 35 – packed the metal benches and surrounding area.

‘He’s really great,’ said Kathleen Petrocci, of Syracuse. ‘I followed him when he first came out. He sounds the same to me.’

Orlando took the stage and began with a 1973 hit, ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree,’ as many audience members clapped to the beat.

In what looked like an impersonation of Mariah Carey, the pepper-haired Orlando raised and shook his arms, shut his eyes and let it rip during his ballads. He and his band then picked up the tempo with a cover of ‘Spanish Harlem’ by Ben E. King, a tune reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Margaritaville.’

The concert marked a perfect end to Senior Citizens’ Day, the selected theme of the day at the Fair.

‘He’s an excellent choice for tonight,’ said Connie Boyd, a resident of Auburn who went to the Fair just to see Orlando. ‘He was just so popular in my younger days.’

Boyd, who also had attended Orlando’s earlier show at 4 p.m., was disappointed that he did not end the show singing all his songs. Instead, other members of his band took over for him at times.

Toni Wine, one of Orlando’s two keyboardists, rasped ‘Groovy Kind of Love,’ a hit she penned which was made famous by Phil Collins in the early 1990s.

Wine also wrote ‘Candida,’ Orlando’s breakthrough song, which he performed and then segued into a heavily synthesized rendition of ‘Knock Three Times.’

Wine is perhaps most well known for her commercial feline-like tendencies: she delighted the audience with her familiar ‘Meow’ jingle from the ‘Meow Mix’ commercials.

Kerry Cole, the other keyboardist, performed a cover of ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now,’ and several audience members mouthed the words – one even did so with tears in her eyes.

Between songs, Orlando told short anecdotes of his career, did a bit of bragging and asked fans – with little luck – to show some excitement and get into the performance.

But as the sunlight faded – and many guests became more inebriated thanks to the beer tent set to the left of the stage – people began to clap along and wave their arms more vigorously.

Covers of James Taylor’s ‘Fire and Rain’ and Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ excited fans even more. Orlando then brought the audience back to the ’50s diner days with a medley of golden oldies covers, including ‘Earth Angel’ and ‘My Little Runaway.’

‘I think it’s nice he’s doing something from every decade,’ said Christina Butler, a senior viola major at Boston University who had no clue who the black shirt-and-pants-clad singer was, but she was drawn to the stage by the Led Zeppelin cover she had earlier heard.

‘I’ve never heard of him,’ said Adam Verome, a junior at Westhill High School in Syracuse, who caught the last few songs of the show. ‘But from what I’ve seen so far, he’s rockin’.’

Although he recognized that many of the younger fans seemed to have no idea who he was, Orlando remained good-naturedly amused.

‘You know what she just said,’ Orlando asked the audience as he pointed to a fan near the front of the stage. ”I didn’t know Geraldo Rivera could sing.”

Published on August 31, 2004 at 12:00 pm