Blue Magic is an American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

group, and one of the more popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. Founded in 1972, the group's original members included lead singer Ted Mills with Vernon Sawyer, Wendell Sawyer, Keith Beaton, and Richard Pratt. Their most notable songs included smooth soul ballads such as "

Sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten seq ...

", "Spell", "What’s Come Over Me", "Three Ring Circus", and "

Stop to Start "Stop to Start" is a 1973 song by Blue Magic from their eponymous debut album. The single peaked at No. 74 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, #14 on the R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the ...

History

Origins

Blue Magic was formed in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in 1972 when former member of The Delfonics, Randy Cain, brought in singer-songwriter Ted Mills to do some writing with the Philly-based WMOT production company to create a new band. A short time later the group Shades of Love, featuring Keith Beaton, Richard Pratt, Vernon Sawyer and his brother Wendell, came in to audition. (According to Marc Taylor in his book ''A Touch of Classic Soul of the Early 1970s'', "although the group performed admirably, they lacked a standout lead singer".) The execs decided to replace the Toppicks, the act Mills recorded with. They inserted Shades of Love (which they owned contractually) with Ted Mills and retitled the group Blue Magic. They were signed with Atco Records through WMOT in the same year.

First album

The group was one of the earliest acts produced by Norman Harris, a Philadelphia recording veteran. The group's harmonies were supported by the

MFSB MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bel ...

studio house band. Their first song release in 1973 was "Spell" which went onto the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

peaking at No. 30 (it was written and co-produced by Mills). They were known for making dreamy ballads and their choreographed stage moves. Their second release was the uptempo "Look Me Up"; which reached number 36, stayed on the R&B chart for 11 weeks, and was popular on the early disco scene. Their next single was the ballad "Stop to Start". This hit was even more successful, reaching number 14 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 74 on the pop chart. The next single release became their first Billboard US Top 10 R&B and Pop hit, "

". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on August 16, 1974. It climbed to number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the R&B chart. The ''Blue Magic'' album also went gold. In addition to the four hit singles, it also included another Richard Dickson inspired creation, the hit ballad "What's Come Over Me", a seven-minute rendition of the

Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient was an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song "Everybody Plays the Fool". Early history The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Dona ...

million seller "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", the solid album closer "Tear It Down", and the uptempo "Welcome to the Club". The first single from their 1975 follow-up album ''

The Magic of the Blue ''The Magic of the Blue'' is the second album by American soul group Blue Magic, produced by Norman Harris and Bobby Eli and released in 1974 on the Atco label. History The album was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia and features ...

'', entitled "Three Ring Circus", also sold well, reaching number 36 in the pop chart and number 5 R&B. MFSB guitarist

Bobby Eli Bobby Eli is an American musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia. He is a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio band MFSB. Overview A multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter and arranger, Eli ...

and Vinnie Barrett co-wrote both "Sideshow" and "Three Ring Circus". Because their biggest hits were slower songs, the group became known mostly for their ballads.

Success and third album

The album '' Thirteen Blue Magic Lane'' in 1975 maintained the group's popularity, and spawned their version of the popular dance number "We're On The Right Track", as well as the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

"Chasing Rainbows". The song "What's Come Over Me" from their debut album was re-worked as a duet with Margie Joseph dubbed in alongside Mills' original lead vocals. The new approach saw the song climb to number 11 on the R&B chart again in 1975. In total, the group had two R&B chart singles in 1975 and four in 1976. The group had their first world tour that year which lasted for 42 weeks. The tour included 48 states in the United States, five countries in Europe and a 10-day stay in the Philippines. They concluded their tour with a two-week engagement in the Virgin Islands. Blue Magic were known also for their choreography. As a visually oriented group, they had several major television appearances, including ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...

,'' ''The Mike Douglas Show,'' ''The Jerry Blavat Show,'' ''Dancin' On Air,'' and ''A.M. Philadelphia.'' In April 1975, they were chosen as the best new group of the year which earned two Ebony Awards. The first was presented in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, the second in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

by the female recording artist

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic s ...

. They have shared the stage with other performers such as

The Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

, The Commodores,

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Natalie Cole,

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

The Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, The Spinners, Earth, Wind & Fire, New Edition,

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and others. The group also contributed background vocals for Alyson Williams and the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

(on the song "If You Really Want To Be My Friend" from the album ''

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll'' is the 12th British and 14th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 18 October 1974 by Rolling Stones Records. It was the last Rolling Stones album to feature guitarist Mick Tay ...

'').

Decline in popularity

By 1977, the group's popularity had faded with the rise of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and changing music styles, and despite the group continuing to record consistently they failed to chart. Subsequent label moves to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

for a reunion with Norman Harris (who had left two years earlier) and then the smaller label Mirage resulted in some smaller R&B charting, but no major success.

Disbanding and regrouping

Background singer Richard Pratt left in the early 1980s. After sibling singers Vernon and Wendell Sawyer left, the remaining two members Mills and Beaton hired two other singers and traveled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, to record with Skip Scarborough and some members of the popular group

Earth Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million ...

on the album ''Message from the Magic''. In 1988, the original group got back together and had some renewed popularity in late 1989 with the album '' From Out of the Blue''. Also in 1989, they appeared on the song "To Be Your Man", the third single from

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hi ...

's second album, '' It's a Big Daddy Thing''. In 1990, ''

The Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...

'' carried the story of Mills' near-fatal car accident. After surgery in 1996, Mills returned to the music scene as a solo act, recording an album for Casablanca Records that year entitled '' This Magic Is Real'', featuring the remake of "Tear It Down". The other members of the group brought in new lead Rod Wayne (real name Roderick Bronaugh), who remained with the group until 2004. Bronaugh went on to teach at

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

The 2000s–present

Mills appeared in the touring play, ''Girl, He Ain't Worth It'' with The Manhattans,

Meli'sa Morgan Joyce Melissa Morgan (usually spelled Meli'sa; born December 6, 1964) is an American R&B/Soul singer–songwriter. Morgan had a string of urban contemporary hits from the mid–1980s to the mid–1990s. Most notable include her cover version of ...

and Tito Jackson, and appeared in the play ''Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places''. In 2007, Mills recorded the album ''3 Tenors of Soul'' with

Russell Thompkins, Jr. Russell Allen Thompkins Jr. (born March 21, 1951) is an American soul singer. Best known as the original lead singer of the vocal group The Stylistics and noted for his high tenor, countertenor, and falsetto vocals. With Russell as lead singer, ...

, original lead singer of

, and William Hart of The Delfonics released on

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...

and produced by

. Mills appeared and gave two concerts for the audiences at the 2014 Soul Train Cruise in February 2014 on the Holland America Eurodam. On March 11, 2018, Blue Magic reunited to appear on the television series, '' Unsung'' on TV One season 12, episode 4. On July 14, 2018, Mills rescued a man from a burning car on route 22 in Hillside, New Jersey. "I knew it was somebody trapped in there and needed help getting out," said Mills, a Summit resident. "It was flipping in the direction that I was driving." Former lead vocalist Rod Wayne died in 2016. Former lead Ted Mills continues to pursue a solo career. The name was formally

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

ed by Wendell Sawyer and Keith Beaton some years earlier. Vernon Sawyer has his own version of the group, while Richard Pratt led another one at the time of his death in 2022. Keith Beaton died in January 13, 2023, at the age of 72.

Original members

*Ted Wizard Mills - lead tenor *Wendell Sawyer – lead baritone *Keith "Duke" Beaton – tenor (died 2023) *Richard Pratt - bass (died 2022) *Vernon Sawyer- baritone

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

*''Live!'' (with Major Harris & Margie Joseph) (1976,

WMOT WMOT is a public radio station serving the metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee market. Licensed to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, it is owned by the Middle Tennessee State University, located in nearby Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and it broadcasts an Ame ...

)

Compilation albums

*''Greatest Hits'' (1986, Omni) *''The Magic of the Blue: Greatest Hits '' (1990,

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

) *''The Best of Blue Magic: Soulful Spell'' (1996,

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

)

Singles

References

External links

* *
Blue Magic
on Soul Tracks * as The Blue Magic * as Blue Magic {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Magic American rhythm and blues musical groups Vocal quintets African-American musical groups Musical groups from Philadelphia Atlantic Records artists Atco Records artists Musical groups established in 1972 1972 establishments in Pennsylvania