''Do You Believe in Magic'' is the debut album by the

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

group

the Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky, the band is widely known for a number of hits, including " ...

. It was released in November 1965, on the

Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...

label. The album features the hits " Do You Believe in Magic" (U.S. No. 9) and " Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" (U.S. No. 2). ''Do You Believe in Magic'' was re-released on CD in 2002 with five bonus tracks.

Reception

In his

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review, music critic William Ruhlmann wrote "The album elaborated upon Sebastian's gentle, winning songwriting style... The album also revealed the group's jug band roots in its arrangements of traditional songs... The Spoonful would be remembered as a vehicle for Sebastian's songwriting, but ''Do You Believe in Magic'' was a well-rounded collection that demonstrated their effectiveness as a group."

Track listing

Personnel

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

, harmonica, organ *

Steve Boone Steve Boone (born September 23, 1943, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina) is an American bass guitarist and music producer, who is both a founding member and current member of the folk-rock group The Lovin' Spoonful. Steve co-wrote two of the groups' ...

– bass, vocals *

Joe Butler Joseph Campbell Butler (born September 16, 1941) is an American drummer and stage actor. He was a founding member of The Lovin' Spoonful, who had seven top 10 hits between 1965 and 1966. Early life Joe Butler was born on September 16, 1941, ...

– drums, percussion, vocals *

Zal Yanovsky Zalman Yanovsky (December 19, 1944 – December 13, 2002) was a Canadian folk-rock musician. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky and teacher Nechama Yanovsky (née Gemeril), who died in 1958. He played lead gui ...

– electric and acoustic guitar, vocals *

Gary Chester Gary Chester (born Cesario Gurciullo; October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) was an American studio drummer, author, and teacher. Beginning in the 1960s, he played on hundreds of records for bands such as The Coasters, The Monkees, and The Lovin ...

– tambourine in “Do You Believe in Magic?”

References

{{Authority control The Lovin' Spoonful albums 1965 debut albums Kama Sutra Records albums Albums produced by Erik Jacobsen