I Believe In Music (song)
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"I Believe in Music" is a 1970 song written and recorded by
Mac Davis Morris Mac Davis (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020) was an American songwriter, singer, performer, and actor. A native of Lubbock, Texas, he enjoyed success as a crossover artist and writing for Elvis Presley during his early career, pro ...
and later included on his second album '' I Believe in Music''.Stambler, Irwin and Landon, Grelun. (2000). "Davis, Mac".
''Country Music: The Encyclopedia''. Macmillan. p. 123. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
Gallery covered it in 1972 as the second of three singles off their ''Nice to Be with You'' album and the follow-up release to their
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
. Gallery's version reached #22 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #13 on the US ''Cash Box'' Top 100. It hit #5 in Canada. Mac Davis's original had been released as a single nearly two years earlier and made a minor dent in the pop charts (US #117). His effort achieved #25 on the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart. It later became his signature song and an iconic anthem of the early '70s.


Inspiration

In a 2017 interview, Davis said the song was inspired while he was in England at the home of
Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
and
Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...
, who were married at that time:Kawashima, Dale. "Special interview with Mac Davis, legendary songwriter & artist who’s written many hits, from Elvis Presley and Kenny Rogers, to Bruno Mars".
September 13, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
Davis said he kept and framed the piece of paper from the hotel room where he completed the song. According to him, the line "Lift your voices to the sky, God loves you when you sing" was inspired by a piece of
folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
he had seen that said, "God respects you when you work, but He loves you when you sing"."'I Believe in Music' by Mac Davis".
Songfacts.com. Retrieved October 4, 2019.


Chart performance


Weekly charts


Year-end charts

;Mac Davis original ;Marian Love cover ;Gallery cover


Other cover versions

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...
's version was the first commercial recording of the song, and it was featured as the B-side of her first American success, "
I Don't Know How to Love Him "I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene. In the opera sh ...
," which became a hit in February 1971.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' - "I Believe in Music" has also been covered by Marian Love (#111, 1971; AC #27),
Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...
, B.J. Thomas,
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...
,
Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...
,
Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...
, Lee Towers,
Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942), also known as Mr. Las Vegas, is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the United States from the mid-to-late 20th century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in ...
,
Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...
,
Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...
,
Lynn Anderson Lynn René Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, " Rose Garden", was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one ...
and
The Statler Brothers The Statler Brothers (sometimes simply referred to as The Statlers) were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group from Staunton, Virginia. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally, and from 1964 to 1972, they sang as opening a ...
.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:I Believe in Music 1970 songs 1970 singles 1971 singles 1972 singles Columbia Records singles Sussex Records singles Songs written by Mac Davis Songs about music Mac Davis songs Gallery (band) songs B. J. Thomas songs Helen Reddy songs