Do You Believe in Magic (song)

"Do You Believe In Magic"
Single by The Lovin' Spoonful
from the album Do You Believe in Magic
B-side	"On the Road Again"
Released	August 1965
Format	7" single
Recorded	1965
Genre	Folk rock,[1] sunshine pop[2]
Length	2:06
Label	Kama Sutra
Writer(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)

"Do You Believe In Magic" is a song written by John Sebastian. It was first recorded and released by his group, The Lovin' Spoonful in 1965. The single peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1978, Shaun Cassidy reached the top 40 with his cover version. The song has been recorded by various artists including a 2005 version by the pop duo Aly & AJ.

The Lovin' Spoonful version

Song history

In 1965, the group The Lovin' Spoonful 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. Session drummer Gary Chester played on the track.^[3] The Lovin' Spoonful's version was ranked number 216 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

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' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" to come up with the intro to "Do You Believe in Magic".

The song is also significantly featured in the Jim Sheridan movie In America, as an Irish-immigrant family, having entered the U.S. on false pretenses, enter New York City for the first time.

"Do You Believe in Magic" was featured in The Parent Trap, American Pie, Date Movie, Temple Grandin, and Rolie Polie Olie. The original version was also the theme song for the short-lived TV series State of Grace.

In 2012, the Lovin' Spoonful's version was used in the official "Meet the Pyro" trailer for the first-person shooter video game, Team Fortress 2.

Shaun Cassidy version

"Do You Believe in Magic"
Single by Shaun Cassidy
from the album Born Late
B-side	"Teen Dream"
Released	March 1978
Format	45 RPM
Recorded	1977
Genre	Pop
Length	2:15
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer(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 39 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 31 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 37

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Rank U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[5] 186

Aly & AJ version

"Do You Believe in Magic"
Single by Aly & AJ
from the album Into the Rush
Released	February 15, 2005
Format	Promo single, Radio Disney single
Recorded	2004
Genre	Pop, teen pop
Length	2:14
Label	Hollywood
Writer(s)	John. B. Sebastian
Producer(s)	Matthew Gerrard
Aly & AJ minor 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 was for Aly's film, Now You See It..., and it also appeared 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 duo consists of sisters, Alyson "Aly" and Amanda Joy "AJ" Michalka.

Track listings

Promo CD/CD single[6]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Do You Believe in Magic"	2:17
2.	"Do You Believe in Magic" (instrumental)	2:17
Total length:		4:34

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
U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Sales[7]	2
Canadian Singles Chart	23

Other versions

• Other notable artists who have remade the song include John Mellencamp on his 1976 album Chestnut Street Incident, Bud Shank, and Randy VanWarmer.
• A cover from the song was used in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Mighty McMario and the Pot of Gold".
• In the 1987 show Barbie and The Rockers episode "Out Of This World", Barbie and The Rockers sing a cover of the song as they prepare to do a concert in outer space.
• Indie pop/rock band The Format released a cover on their compilation album B-Sides & Rarities,
• In 1992, McDonald's used a rewritten version of the song for some of their commercials, replacing all of the lyrics (except for the first line) with ones pertaining to their talking Happy Meal items and Ronald McDonald.
• In 2002, the song was later recorded by BBMak for the score of Return to Never Land, a sequel to Disney's 1953 classic Peter Pan.
• In 1989, Steve Tyrell performed a cover for the film Second Sight.
• On September 4, 1993 when Jim Abbott of the New York Yankees pitched a no-hitter, the song was played after Twisted Sister song, "We're Not Gonna Take It".
• In 2010 a few bars were used as background music to a television commercial for the Chase Bank iPhone app which allows remote check deposits using the iPhone camera.

References

1. Unterberger, Richie. "Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Aunthor Favorites". www.richieunterberger.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
2. leggett, Steve. "Do You Believe in Magic/Daydream joint album review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
3. "The Official Gary Chester Website - Discography". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
4. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
5. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
6. "Aly & AJ "Do You Believe in Magic" Promo CD" (JPG). Aly-and-aj.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.]

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics