"It's Magic" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written by

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

, with lyrics by

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premie ...

, 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 i ...

. They wrote the song for

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

in her

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

film debut, ''

Romance on the High Seas ''Romance on the High Seas'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''It's Magic'') is a 1948 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore and Doris Day in her film debut. Bus ...

'' (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 current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...

, Tony Martin, Dick Haymes, Gordon MacRae and

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

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 The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

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 composing-songwriting duo with Ray Evans, with whom he specialized in composing film scores and original soundtrack ...

and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter best known for being a half of a composing-songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, specializing himself in writing lyrics for film songs. On music Livingston ...

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

The Doris Day Show ''The Doris Day Show'' is an American sitcom which was originally broadcast on CBS from September 1968 until March 1973, remaining on the air for five seasons and 128 episodes. The series is remembered for its multiple format and cast chang ...

''.

Recordings

*The

recording was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

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 after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

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), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

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'' (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. The same year, a version of the song by Geraldo and his Orchestra, with vocals by Denny Vaughan, was released by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

. * Beverly Kenney recorded the song in 1958 for her album ''Beverly Kenney Sings for Playboys''. *

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

recorded the song in 1959 for her album ''

What a Diff'rence a Day Makes! ''What a Diff'rence a Day Makes!'' is a tenth studio album by Dinah Washington, arranged by Belford Hendricks, featuring her hit single of the same name. The title track won Washington the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance at the 2nd An ...

''. *

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), professio ...

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. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

recorded the song in 1963 for her EP ''In Other Words...''. *In 2010, Australian singer Melinda Schneider recorded the song for her Doris Day tribute album ''Melinda Does Doris''. *

Barbara Lewis Barbara Ann Lewis (born February 9, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues. Career Lewis was born in Salem Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, Salem, Michigan, United States. She was writ ...

recorded the song in 1965, and it was included in her album of the same name. *In 1962,

The Platters The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...

, 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 Sadenia "Eddi" Reader Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as the lead vocalist of the Folk music, folk and soft rock band Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo caree ...

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''. *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

has at least one well-known version of the song recorded. Curiously, it should appear in the List of songs recorded by Frank Sinatra, but it doesn't. *

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...

recorded an instrumental version of the song in December 1960, for his album ''

Far Cry ''Far Cry'' is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games published by Ubisoft. The first game, '' Far Cry'', was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subsequently, Ubisoft obtained ...

'' which was released in 1962.

Other film versions

*As it was part of the Warner studio music catalog,

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

parodied the song in the 1951

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

cartoon '' Rabbit Every Monday'', with several verses beginning with "Carrots are divine...You get a dozen for a dime. It's magic." In his 1953

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

'' 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 1967 motion picture '' The Cool Ones'' featured Mrs. Miller 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 Columbia Records singles

Recordings

Other film versions

See also

References