Magic (Pilot song)

"Magic" is a 1974 song by Scottish pop rock band Pilot, and was the first hit single for the group. It was written by band members Billy Lyall and David Paton for their debut album, From the Album of the Same Name.

"Magic"
German single cover art
Single by Pilot
from the album From the Album of the Same Name
B-side"Just Let Me Be"
Released20 September 1974 (1974-09-20)
Recorded1974
Genre
Length3:03
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Alan Parsons
Pilot singles chronology
"Just a Smile"
(1974)		 "Magic"
(1974)		 "January"
(1975)

It charted most successfully in Canada, where it topped the RPM national singles chart on 19 July 1975,[2] and received a gold certification.[3] It climbed as far as number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and reached number five during the summer of 1975 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100.

According to Paton, the song is inspired by the sunrise on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh.[4] In a 2012 interview with Hotdisc Television, Paton also stated that at the time, his wife said she'd "never seen a daybreak," which also inspired the song.[5]

Chart performance

Other versions

Selena Gomez version
"Magic"
Single by Selena Gomez
from the album Wizards of Waverly Place
Released21 July 2009 (2009-07-21)
Recorded2009
GenrePop rock
Length2:49
LabelWalt Disney
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Selena Gomez singles chronology
"Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)"
(2009)		 "Magic"
(2009)		 "Send It On"
(2009)
Music video
"Magic" on YouTube

Gomez's version peaked at No. 61 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, at No. 80 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart, at No. 5 on the Norwegian Singles Chart and at No. 90 on the UK Singles Chart. It has sold 563,000 copies in the United States.[18] Selena Gomez covered "Magic" for the soundtrack of the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place, released as a single on 21 July 2009; it was marked with an asterisk (*) as "Magic*" due to two other songs on the album having identical names (the other two performed by Meaghan Martin and Honor Society). The song was featured in the television film Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. Her music video premiered on Disney Channel on 24 July 2009. The video was directed by Roman Perez.

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Brazil (ABPD)[19] 47
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[20] 80
Norway (VG-lista)[21] 5
Scotland (OCC)[22] 72
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 90
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 61

Sally Boyden version

"Magic" was covered by Sally Boyden on her 1976 album The Littlest Australian.[25] The song was sampled by Girl Talk on his 2006 release Night Ripper on the track "Summer Smoke". The song is also heavily sampled in a song titled "It's Magic" by rap artist J.R. Writer. It was then sampled again by rapper Flo Rida in 2009. The alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies has been known to sometimes close live shows by playing the song as part of a medley.[26] It has also been covered by Patrick Juvet.[27]

Usage in other media

The song was included in the films Happy Gilmore (1996), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), The Magic Roundabout (2005), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011), and the video game Sleeping Dogs (2012). It was also heard in a humorous deleted scene from the film Guardians of the Galaxy. Circa 1999, the tune was used in AT&T commercials to promote their "00 Service," but the chorus was modified to sing only two "oh's." The song is prominently featured in commercials for the prescription medication Ozempic, with the line "It's magic" changed to "Ozempic."[28]

See also
  • List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References
  1. "Soft Rock: AM Radio Hits - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via AllMusic.
  2. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  3. "Gold Platinum Database". Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  4. "- YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  5. "DAVID PATON OF PILOT INTERVIEW ON RADIO BORDERS - 6 MAY 2012 - YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  6. Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  7. "RPM - Library and Archives Canada - RPM - Bibliothèque et Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  8. "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Magic". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  10. Top 40, Stichting Nederlandse. "Pilot - Magic". Top40.nl.
  11. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002]
  14. "Cash Box Top Singles - 1975". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  15. "Top Singles – Volume 24, No. 14, December 27, 1975". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  16. Top 40, Stichting Nederlandse. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1975". Top40.nl.
  17. "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". musicoutfitters.com.
  18. Trust, Gary (14 May 2017). "Ask Billboard: Selena Gomez's Career Album & Song Sales". Billboard.
  19. "Brazil" (PDF). ABPD. 6 October 2001. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  20. "Selena Gomez Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  21. "Norwegiancharts.com – Selena Gomez – Magic". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  24. "Selena Gomez Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  25. The Littlest Australian by Sally Boyden : Reviews and Ratings. Rate Your Music.
  26. Barenaked Ladies performing musical montage, starting with Oh, Oh, Oh It's Magic. YouTube (8 August 2010).
  27. Patrick JUVET – MAGIC. YouTube (17 April 2010).
  28. Bulik, Beth Snyder (1 August 2018). "Novo Nordisk channels '70s 'Magic' in first TV ad for blockbuster-in-waiting Ozempic". FiercePharma.com. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
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