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Could It Be Magic

"Could It Be Magic"
Barry Manilow Could it be magic A-side US vinyl 1975.jpg
A-side label of US vinyl single
Single by Barry Manilow
from the album Barry Manilow
B-side "I Am Your Child"
Released June 1975
Format 7" single
Recorded 1973
Genre Pop
Length 6:50
4:14 (edit)
Label Arista
Writer(s) Barry Manilow, Frédéric Chopin (music)
Adrienne Anderson (lyrics)
Producer(s) Barry Manilow, Ron Dante
Barry Manilow singles chronology
"It's a Miracle"
(1975)
"Could It Be Magic"
(1975)
"I Write the Songs"
(1975)
"Could It Be Magic"
Could it be magic by Donna Summer A-side US vinyl.jpg
US 7-inch vinyl single
Single by Donna Summer
from the album A Love Trilogy
B-side Whispering Waves
Released January 11, 1976
Format 7" single
Genre Disco
Length 5:19
Label Oasis (US/Canada)
GTO (U.K.)
Atlantic (France/Germany)
Groovy (Netherlands)
Durium (Italy)
Writer(s) Barry Manilow, Frédéric Chopin (music)
Adrienne Anderson (lyrics)
Producer(s) Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte
Donna Summer singles chronology
"Love to Love You Baby"
(1975)
"Could It Be Magic"
(1976)
"Try Me, I Know We Can Make It"
(1976)
"Could It Be Magic"
Take that could it be magic uk cd single.jpg
UK Maxi-CD cover
Single by Take That
from the album Take That & Party
Released November 30, 1992
Format 7" single, 12" maxi single, CD single, Cassette single
Genre Pop
Length 4:28 (album version)
Label RCA
Writer(s) Barry Manilow, Frédéric Chopin (music)
Adrienne Anderson (lyrics)
Producer(s) The Rapino Brothers
Take That singles chronology
"A Million Love Songs"
(1992)
"Could It Be Magic"
(1992)
"Why Can't I Wake Up with You"
(1993)
Music video
"Could It Be Magic" on YouTube

"Could It Be Magic" is a song with lyrics written by Adrienne Anderson and music composed by Barry Manilow, based on chord and melodical progressions of Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C Minor, Opus 28, Number 20. Initially released in 1971, it was later rerecorded, given an album release in 1973 and a single release in 1975. This became one of Manilow's first hits. The song has been covered by a number of other artists over the years, most successfully by Donna Summer in 1976 and by Take That in 1992.

As Manilow had only composed or arranged commercial jingles up to that point, he was unproven as a pop-song arranger, and thus, he was not permitted to arrange the original backing track himself upon its first release in 1971. Instead, this early version of the song was produced under the hand of Tony Orlando and recorded by Featherbed, a "ghost" group consisting of session musicians.

Originally released on the Bell Records label, the composer hated the Tony Orlando arrangement so severely (see Sweet Life) that, as Manilow has said in numerous subsequent interviews, he was appreciative of the fact that the song went nowhere on the charts. However, he has been quoted in recent years as having somewhat softened his opinion of the track, saying it's "kind of catchy".

Featuring a bubblegum pop beat, cowbells and a "Knock Three Times" feel, the chorus is the same, but the original verse lyrics have nothing to do with the hit version Manilow himself released in 1973.

That year, Manilow would come to be signed to Bell Records in his own right, immediately after which a completely reworked version with Manilow's own arrangement was included on his debut album, Barry Manilow I, released that fall. Six months later, former Columbia Records president Clive Davis would take over Bell Records and merge it into Arista with all the other Columbia Pictures-owned labels such as Amy, Mala, Colpix, and Colgems, to name a few.


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Wikipedia

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