Do You Believe in Magic (song)

"Do You Believe in Magic" is a song by the American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian, it was issued as the band's debut single in July 1965. The single peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. It later served as the title track of the band's debut album, issued that November. In 1978, Shaun Cassidy reached the Top 40 with his cover version.

"Do You Believe in Magic"
Italian picture sleeve
Single by the Lovin' Spoonful
B-side	"On the Road Again"
Released	July 20, 1965[1]
Recorded	June 1965[2]
Studio	Bell Sound, New York City
Genre	Folk rock,[3] pop,[4] rock[5]
Length	2:05
Label	Kama Sutra
Songwriter(s)	John Sebastian
Producer(s)	Erik Jacobsen
The Lovin' Spoonful singles chronology
"Do You Believe in Magic" (1965) "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" (1965)
Audio
"Do You Believe in Magic" on YouTube

The Lovin' Spoonful version

Billboard trade ad for the song

John Sebastian composed "Do You Believe in Magic" in May 1965.^[6] Sebastian drew inspiration from a teenage girl who attended one of the Lovin' Spoonful's performances at the Night Owl Cafe, a club in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City at which the band were then holding a residency.^[6][7] The younger girl stood in contrast to the older beatnik crowd who typically attended folk performances,^[7] and Sebastian recalled that "[she was] dancing like we danced – and not like the last generation danced".^[8] He also remembered: "Zal [Yanovsky] and I just elbowed each other the entire night, because to us, that young girl symbolized the fact that our audience was changing, that maybe they had finally found us."^[7] Sebastian composed the song the following night,^[6][7] and the rest of the band worked with him at the Hotel Albert to finish its arrangement.^[9]

In 1965, The Lovin' Spoonful originally recorded and released the song as the first single from their debut studio album Do You Believe in Magic. The single was well received by the public and became a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 9. According to the lyrics, the magic referenced in the title is the power of music to supply happiness and freedom to both those who make it and those who listen to it. The Lovin' Spoonful's version was ranked number 216 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Billboard said of the original single release that the "pulsating folk-flavored rhythm number serves as a strong and exciting debut for new group in the Byrds vein."^[10] Cash Box described it as a "rollicking, teen-angled romancer with an infectious danceable riff."^[11] Record World said that it has "plenty of beat and plenty of contemporary grit sound."^[12]

In a 2007 DVD entitled The Lovin' Spoonful with John Sebastian - Do You Believe in Magic, author Sebastian illustrates how he sped up the three-chord intro from Martha and the Vandellas' "Heat Wave" to come up with the intro to "Do You Believe in Magic."

In 2002, "Do You Believe in Magic by The Lovin' Spoonful was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[13]

Charts

Weekly chart performance Chart (1965) Peak position Canadian R.P.M. Play Sheet[14] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[15] 9 US Cash Box Top 100[16] 8 US Record World 100 Top Pops[17] 4

Year-end chart performance Chart (1965) Rank US Billboard Top Singles[18] 89 US Cash Box Top 100 Chart Hits[19] 80

Shaun Cassidy version

"Do You Believe in Magic"
Single by Shaun Cassidy
from the album Born Late
B-side	"Teen Dream"
Released	March 1978
Recorded	1977
Genre	Pop
Length	2:15
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	John Sebastian
Producer(s)	Michael Lloyd
Shaun Cassidy singles chronology
"Hey Deanie" (1977) "Do You Believe in Magic" (1978) "Our Night" (1978)

"Do You Believe in Magic" became a top forty hit again in 1978 in both the U.S. and Canada when Shaun Cassidy released his cover as a single. Cassidy's version reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was Cassidy's second successful remake of a 1960s hit, the first being "Da Doo Ron Ron" from his previous LP.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1978) Peak position Canada RPM Top Singles 39 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[20] 31 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 37

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Rank U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[21] 186

Aly & AJ version

"Do You Believe in Magic"
Single by Aly & AJ
from the album Into the Rush
Released	February 14, 2005
Recorded	2004
Genre	Pop rock bubblegum pop
Length	2:14
Label	Hollywood
Songwriter(s)	John. B. Sebastian
Producer(s)	Matthew Gerrard
Aly & AJ singles chronology
"Do You Believe in Magic" (2005) "No One" (2005)
Alternative cover
UK/digital cover

"Do You Believe in Magic" was covered by American pop rock duo Aly & AJ. Their version of the song appeared in the 2007 Disney film "The Game Plan" as well as on their debut studio album, Into the Rush, in addition to an appearance on the 2009 soundtrack to the TV show Wizards of Waverly Place. The video has Aly and AJ performing with acoustic guitars in their loft apartment, cuddling their dog, taking Polaroids and then finger painting.

Release history

Date	Country	Format	Label
February 15, 2005	United States	CD	Hollywood Records
June 5, 2006	Belgium
	United Kingdom	Digital download	EMI

Chart performance

Chart (2005)	Peak position
US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard)[22]	2

References

1. Jackson 2015, p. xvii.
2. Edmonds, Ben (2002). Do You Believe in Magic (Liner notes). The Lovin' Spoonful. Buddha Records, Kama Sutra Records. 74465 99730 2.
3. Unterberger, Richie. "Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Aunthor Favorites". www.richieunterberger.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
4. Perone, James E. (2018). Listen to Pop! Exploring a Musical Genre. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4408-6377-6 – via Google Books.
5. Unterberger, Richie. "Do You Believe in Magic? The Lovin' Spoonful". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
6. Fletcher 2009, pp. 216–217.
7. Jackson 2015, p. 136.
8. Fletcher 2009, p. 216.
9. Boone & Moss 2014, p. 63.
10. "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. August 7, 1965. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
11. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 7, 1965. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
12. "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Record World. August 7, 1965. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
13. "GRAMMY HALL OF FAME AWARD". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
14. "RPM 100 (October 18, 1965)". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
15. "The Lovin' Spoonful Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
16. "Cash Box Top 100 – Week of October 16, 1965" (PDF). Cash Box. October 16, 1965. p. 4.
17. "Record World 100 Top Pops – Week of October 16, 1965" (PDF). Record World. October 16, 1965. p. 15.
18. "Top Singles of 1965" (PDF). Billboard. December 25, 1965. pp. 22–23 – via WorldRadioHistory.com.
19. "Top 100 Chart Hits of 1965" (PDF). Cash Box. December 25, 1965. pp. 14–16 – via WorldRadioHistory.com.
20. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
21. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
22. "Hot Singles Sales : Apr 09, 2005". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2017.

Sources

• Boone, Steve; Moss, Tony (2014). Hotter Than a Match Head: My Life on the Run with The Lovin' Spoonful. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77041-193-7 – via the Internet Archive.
• Fletcher, Tony (2009). All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927–77. New York City: W.W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-33483-8 – via the Internet Archive.
• Jackson, Andrew Grant (2015). 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music. New York City: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4668-6497-9.