"It's Magic" is a popular song written by

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn, published in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

. They wrote the song for

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

in her Warner Brothers film debut, '' Romance on the High Seas'' (retitled ''It's Magic'' in the United Kingdom, after the song). In the autumn of

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

Vic Damone, Tony Martin, Dick Haymes, Gordon MacRae and

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

all charted on ''Billboard'' magazine charts with versions of the song, but none as successfully as Day's recording. "It's Magic" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but in March 1949 lost to " Buttons and Bows" by

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans t ...

and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

. In 1952, Day made the song the theme of her Hollywood radio series, '' The Doris Day Show''.

Recordings

*The

recording was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

as catalog number 38188. In September 1948 the single peaked at no. 2 on ''Billboard'''s Retail Record Sales chart during a 21-week run. *The Tony Martin recording was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-2862. The recording spent 13 weeks on the ''Billboard'' chart, peaking at position no. 11. *The Dick Haymes recording was released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

as catalog number 23826. The recording spent 18 weeks on the ''Billboard'' chart, peaking at position no. 9. *The Gordon MacRae recording was released by

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 ...

as catalog number 15072. The recording spent 17 weeks on the ''Billboard'' chart, peaking at position no. 9. *The

recording was released by Musicraft Records as catalog number 557. The recording spent two weeks on the ''Billboard'' chart, peaking at position no. 29. It appeared on the EP ''

The Divine Sarah Sings ''The Divine Sarah Sings'' is a 1954 EP album by Sarah Vaughan, accompanied by the Hugo Peretti Orchestra. Reception The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album three stars and said that "This now-rare ten-inch LP is a quintessent ...

'' (1954). *In 1949, the song was featured on a selection of songs from the film ''It's Magic'' (the UK title for ''Romance on the High Seas'') recorded by Peter Yorke and his Concert Orchestra, with vocals by Steve Conway, and issued by

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

. The same year, a version of the song by Geraldo and his Orchestra, with vocals by

Denny Vaughan Denny or Dennie may refer to: People * Denny (given name), a list of people named Denny or Dennie * Denny (surname), a list of people surnamed Denny or Dennie *Denny (hybrid hominin) Places * Denny, California, a ghost town * Denny, Falkirk, a to ...

, was released by Parlophone. *

Beverly Kenney Beverly Kenney (January 29, 1932, Harrison, New Jersey – April 13, 1960, Greenwich Village, New York City) was an American jazz singer. Early life Kenney was born in Harrison, New Jersey on January 29, 1932, the second of Charles Joseph and ...

recorded the song in 1958 for her album ''Beverly Kenney Sings for Playboys''. * Dinah Washington recorded the song in 1959 for her album '' What a Diff'rence a Day Makes!''. *

Keely Smith Dorothy Jacqueline Keely (March 9, 1928The reference work ''The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet'' gives Smith's date of birth as March 9, 1932. – December 16, 2017), profession ...

recorded it in 1959 for her Capitol album, ''Swingin' Pretty'', arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. *

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

recorded the song in 1963 for her EP ''In Other Words...''. *In 2010, Australian singer

Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider (born Melinda-Jane Bean; 7 October 1971) is an Australian country music singer and songwriter and radio host. Schneider has been performing since she was three and sang with her mother, the renowned yodelling country artist Mar ...

recorded the song for her Doris Day tribute album ''Melinda Does Doris''. * Barbara Lewis recorded the song in 1965, and it was included in her album of the same name. *In 1962, The Platters, with Sonny Turner singing lead, released it as a single. It reached 95 on the ''Billboard'' chart. It was also featured on their 1961 album ''Song for the Lonely''. * Eddi Reader recorded the song for her 2009 album '' Love Is the Way''. *It's also the title cut of the 2013 album ''It's Magic - The songs of Sammy Cahn'' recorded by Steve Tyrell, featuring a saxophone solo by David Mann. *To celebrate the one hundredth birthday of Sammy Cahn, a 2013 album was released featuring an ensemble of vocalists and jazz combo for the CD, ''It's Magic''.

Other film versions

*As it was part of the Warner studio music catalog, Bugs Bunny parodied the song in the 1951

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

cartoon ''

Rabbit Every Monday ''Rabbit Every Monday'' is a 1951 Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on February 10, 1951, and stars Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. The title is a play on ''Chicken Every Sunday''. It is the last ...

'', with several verses beginning with "Carrots are divine...You get a dozen for a dime. It's magic." In his 1953 Warner Brothers

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

'' Robot Rabbit'', Bugs reprised this parody with a shorter version. In a later short, 1963's '' Transylvania 6-5000'', Bugs hums/sings the melody, inserting magic words that he acquired from a book and unknowingly causing troublesome transformations in the short's antagonist,

Count Bloodcount The '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated shorts released by Warner Bros. feature a range of characters which are listed and briefly detailed here. Major characters from the franchise include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer ...

. *The 1967 motion picture ''

The Cool Ones ''The Cool Ones'' (aka ''Cool, Baby Cool'') is a 1967 film starring Roddy McDowall and directed by Gene Nelson. The 1960s novelty singer known as Mrs. Miller performs in a cameo role, and the film features performances by the bands the Leaves and ...

'' featured

Mrs. Miller Elva Ruby Miller (October 5, 1907 – July 5, 1997), who recorded under the name "Mrs. Miller", was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s, for her series of shrill and off-tempo renditions of popular songs such as "Moon Rive ...

doing a rock-flavored version of the song.

References

{{authority control Songs with music by Jule Styne Songs with lyrics by Sammy Cahn Songs written for films 1948 songs Doris Day songs James Brown songs Julie Rogers songs Sarah Vaughan songs

Recordings

Other film versions

See also

References