"Magic" is a 1974 song by Scottish

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, and was the first hit single for the group. It was written by band members

David Paton David Paton (; born 29 October 1949) is a Scottish bassist, guitarist and singer. He first achieved success in the mid-1970s as lead vocalist and bassist of Pilot, who scored hits with " Magic", "January", "Just a Smile" and "Call Me Round" b ...

and

Billy Lyall William Lyall (26 March 1953 – 1 December 1989) was a Scottish musician, known for his work with Pilot, The Alan Parsons Project, and the Bay City Rollers. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Lyall was a singer, keyboard player and flautist with Pi ...

for their debut album, ''

From the Album of the Same Name ''From the Album of the Same Name'' (known as ''Pilot'' in the US) is the 1974 debut album by Pilot, containing the international hit "Magic" and the minor hit, "Just a Smile" (UK #31, Australia #49, US #90). The album was initially released ...

''.

Background

According to Paton, the song is inspired by the sunrise on

Blackford Hill Blackford Hill is a hill in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. It is in the area of Blackford, between Morningside, and the Braid Hills. Together with the Hermitage of Braid, it comprises the Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill Loca ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. 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.

Personnel

Pilot

Lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, Bass *

Keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, Synthesizers,

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

Backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Stuart Tosh Stuart Mcbeath Tosh (born 26 September 1948), also known as Stuart Tosh, is a Scottish drummer, songwriter and vocalist. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He recorded and toured with a succession of bands during the 1970s and 1980s, including ...

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

Additional personnel

Ian Bairnson Ian Bairnson (born 3 August 1953 as ''John Bairnson'') is a Scottish musician, best known for being one of the core members of The Alan Parsons Project. He is a multi-instrumentalist, who has played saxophone and keyboards, although he is best ...

Electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

* Nick Heath:

* David Mason:

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

Richard Hewson Richard Anthony Hewson (born 17 November 1943) is an English producer, arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, who created the studio group RAH Band. Career Hewson began in the late 1960s as an arranger, and has worked with musicians s ...

: Orchestral Arrangements

Chart performance

"Magic" charted most successfully in Canada, where it topped the ''RPM'' national singles chart on 19 July 1975, and received a gold certification. It climbed as far as number 11 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and reached number five during the summer of 1975 in the US on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Selena Gomez version

Gomez's version was released as a single on 21 July 2009. It peaked at No. 61 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, at No. 80 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart, at No. 5 on the

Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide chart ...

and at No. 90 on the

. It has sold 563,000 copies in the United States.

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

covered "Magic" for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

television series ''

Wizards of Waverly Place ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wiza ...

''; 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 Meaghan Jette Martin () (born February 17, 1992) is an American actress and singer known for her work in film, television, and theatre. She is best known for her starring role in the ABC Family television series, ''10 Things I Hate About You'' a ...

and

Honor Society In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...

). 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.

Usage in other media

The song was included in the films ''

Happy Gilmore ''Happy Gilmore'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds. It stars Adam Sandler as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a newfound talent for golf. The scree ...

'' (1996), '' Herbie: Fully Loaded'' (2005), ''

The Magic Roundabout ''The Magic Roundabout'' is an English-language children's television programme that ran from 1965 to 1977. It used the footage of the French stop motion animation show ''Le Manège enchanté'' but with completely different scripts and characte ...

'' (also 2005), and '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules'' (2011), and the video game '' Sleeping Dogs'' (2012). Television series include ''

Fish Hooks ''Fish Hooks'' is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The show ran for three seasons from September 3, 2010 to April 4, 2014, airing a total of 59 episodes. Plot The series revolves ...

'', '' Nutri Ventures''. It was also heard in a humorous deleted scene from the film ''

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

''. It's also played on a regular basis at Tynecastle Park, when Heart of Midlothian win a game against their rivals. Novo Nordisk rolled out a direct-to-consumer campaign for Ozempic, its diabetes medication, set to the "Magic" tune beginning 30 July 2018. The song is also featured in commercials for

Majic Window Majic Window is a home improvement company based in Wixom, Michigan, United States, They claim to be the world's largest distributor of fiberglass windows. History Bart Rue and Rod Rue established a family owned corporation in Wixom, Michigan i ...

. The song was featured in Yamaha Mio J scooter TV commercial for Indonesian market. The song is used in the first episode of 2021's ''

Tiger King The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

: The Doc Antle Story'' when talking about Doc's use of tigers in his 70s magic shows.

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* * {{authority control 1974 singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Pilot (band) songs 2009 singles Selena Gomez songs Songs written by David Paton 1974 songs EMI Records singles Walt Disney Records singles