Do You Believe in Magic

"Do You Believe In Magic" is the name of a song written by John Sebastian.

Song history

In 1965, Sebastian's group, The Lovin' Spoonful, released the song as the first single from their debut album Do You Believe in Magic. The song was well-received by the public and became a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #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 song became a top forty Hot 100 hit again in 1978 when Shaun Cassidy released his remake as a single. Other notable artists who have remade the song include John Mellencamp, who released his version as a track 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 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."

Indie pop/rock band, The Format released a cover of the song on their popular compilation album B-Sides & Rarities

In the late 80s or early 90s, McDonald's used a rewritten version of the song for one 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 1989 Kids Incorporated sang "Do You Believe In Magic" in the episode "Stop the Presses". The song was later recorded by BBMak for the score of Return to Never Land, a sequel to Disney's 1953 classic Peter Pan.

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.

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, enters New York City for the first time, and was also the theme song to the ABC Family series State of Grace.

Other movies which the song was featured include the 1999 comedy, American Pie and 2006 movie, Date Movie.

The Lovin' Spoonful's version was ranked #216 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song was covered by Steve Tyrell in Second Sight.

Aly & AJ cover

"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
Genre	Pop
Length	2:17
Label	Hollywood, EMI
Writer(s)	John. B. Sebastian
Producer	Matthew Gerrard
Aly & AJ minor singles chronology
"Do You Believe in Magic" (2005) "No One" (2005)
Alternate cover UK/digital cover

"Do You Believe in Magic" was covered by American teen pop duo, Aly & AJ, for their debut album, Into the Rush, in 2005. The song was released with the showing of Alyson Michalka's debut Disney Channel original movie, Now You See It.... It was released in the U.S. on February 15, 2005, and released digitally in the UK one year later. This version is also featured in the 2009 Wizards of Waverly Place soundtrack. This version sold more than 50,000 copies and went to number one on Radio Disney.^[1]

Track listings

Release history

Chart performance

External links