Magic (Pilot song) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids "Magic"
German single cover art
Single by Pilot
from the album From the Album of the Same Name
B-side	"Just Let Me Be"
Released	20 September 1974 (1974-09-20)
Recorded	1974
Genre	Pop rock soft rock
Length	3:03
Label	EMI
Songwriter(s)	David Paton, Billy Lyall
Producer(s)	Alan Parsons
Pilot singles chronology
"Just a Smile" (1974) "Magic" (1974) "January" (1975)

"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 member David Paton for their debut album, From the Album of the Same Name.

It 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 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. 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.

Chart performance

Other versions

Selena Gomez version

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. 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.

Sally Boyden version

"Magic" was covered by Sally Boyden on her 1976 album The Littlest Australian. 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. It has also been covered by Patrick Juvet.

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."

See also

In Spanish: Magic (canción de Pilot) para niños