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1965 studio album by the Lovin` Spoonful

Do You Believe in Magic is the debut album by the folk rock group the Lovin` Spoonful. It was released in the United States in November 1965, on the Kama Sutra label. Release in the United Kingdom followed in March 1966. 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.

Release and reception

Do You Believe in Magic first went on sale on October 23, 1965, when the Lovin` Spoonful held an autograph session outside a White Front department store in Pleasant Hill, California.[8] Kama Sutra Records issued the album across the United States in November,[1] one month after the title track peaked at number nine on Billboard magazine`s Hot 100 chart.[9] In conjunction with the release of the album, the label issued the non-album single "You Didn`t Have to Be So Nice".[10][nb 1] The album entered Billboard`s Top LPs chart on December 4, 1965,[9] and it initially ran on the chart for 19 weeks, peaking in February 1966 at number 71.[12] After the album fell off the chart in April,[13] Kama Sutra issued another single from it, "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?",[14] which peaked at number two on the Hot 100 in June.[9][nb 2] That same month, Do You Believe in Magic re-entered the Top LPs chart,[16] and it spent 16 more weeks on the chart, reaching a new peak in August at number 32.[9]

Pye International Records issued the album in the United Kingdom in March 1966,[17] but it did not chart.[18]

In a review for The Village Voice, the critic J. R. Goddard wrote that though the Lovin` Spoonful was made up of talented musicians, the album was "so dull and poorly engineered".[19] Writing in retrospect for AllMusic, the 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."[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Sebastian, except where noted.

Note

• Track lengths are per the original LP liner notes. Songwriting credits are from the 2002 CD remaster.[1]

Charts

Weekly chart performance