Do You Believe in Magic first went on sale on October23, 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 February1966 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]
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.
^"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" was later included on the Lovin' Spoonful's second album, Daydream, issued in February1966.[11]
^Before the single's U.S. release in April1966,[14]Quality Records issued it in December1965 in select Canadian cities to test its potential performance in the American market.[15]
^Anon. (October 22, 1965). "Autorama Begins Today at Store". Contra Costa Times. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com. The Lovin' Spoonful... will be at the Autorama... on Saturday [October 23] to sign autographs. Their first L.P. album, 'Do You Believe in Magic' will be on sale for the first time at the Autorama.
