Magic Moments
| "Magic Moments" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Perry Como | ||||
| A-side | "Catch a Falling Star" | |||
| B-side | "Magic Moments" | |||
| Released | 1957 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Writer(s) |
Burt Bacharach Hal David | |||
| Producer(s) | Joe Reisman | |||
| Perry Como singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Magic Moments" is a popular song with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David, one of the first compositions by that duo.[1] The song was published in 1957.
The biggest hit version of the song was recorded by Perry Como in 1957, and became a hit in early 1958. His recording was produced by Joe Reisman.[2] The peak position in the United States is hard to track precisely, due to the multiple charts used in Billboard magazine. The overall impact of the song probably fell just below the top ten. The song was also a 1958 hit in Italy, while in the United Kingdom it spent eight weeks at number one in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Como's biggest ever hit there.[2] A less successful UK cover version recorded by Ronnie Hilton reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart, in 1958.[3]
In his 2003 book Burt Bacharach, Song by Song, Serene Dominic comments:
Combined with the quizzical bassoon, the whistling and the ghastly white shadings of the Ray Charles Singers, these distant recollections must seem like occurrences on another planet to later generations.[4]
Other uses
Amanda Lear recorded this song for her 1985 EP A L.
Synthpop duo Erasure recorded the song for their 1997 album Cowboy. Their version is featured in the Clive Barker film Lord of Illusions, providing the background music to a magicians' convention.
Magic Moments is also the name given to a Surprise, Surprise style show within the BBC television film Pat and Margaret. Its theme music is the song itself and as the coach carrying various members of the audience sets off at the start of the film, they start singing it.
This song was used in the television commercial for Quality Street, a confectionery brand in the UK in the 1980s and continues to be used each year for the brand's Christmas advertisements.
The song is also occasionally sung by Ulster Rugby fans at away matches, particularly after 'magic moments' of play.
The Perry Como version is featured in the 1998 film, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, when Raoul arrives at a Vegas hotel where Dr. Gonzo is located, briefly in Dogma (1999), Police Academy (1984), Two Weeks Notice (2002), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), and Episode 3 of the first season of the 2012 BBC series Call the Midwife, which is set in 1957.
References
- ↑ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 24 - The Music Men. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu.
- 1 2 Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 36. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 253. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ [Dominic, S. (2003), Burt Bacharach, Song by Song: The Ultimate Burt Bacharach Reference for Fans, Serious Record Collectors, and Music Critics, Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-0825672804, p.27.
| Preceded by "The Story of My Life" by Michael Holliday |
UK number-one single 1 March 1958 (8 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Whole Lotta Woman" by Marvin Rainwater |
