Blue Magic (band)

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For the term in Final Fantasy, see Final Fantasy magic.
Blue Magic

Origin Philadelphia, USA
Years active 1973 – 1989
Genres R&B
Soul
Labels Atlantic
Members Theodore Mills
Keith Beaton
Wendell Sawyer
Vernon Sawyer
Richard Pratt

Blue Magic is an American R&B soul vocal quintet which was formed in Philadelphia in June 1973 when former Delfonic Randy Cain brought singer-songwriter Ted Mills in to do some writing with the Philly-based WMOT production company and a short time later, the group Shades of Blue, featuring Keith Beaton, Richard Pratt, Vernon Sawyer and his brother Wendell, came in for an audition. According to Marc Taylor, in his book A Touch of Classic Soul of the Early 1970's, although the group performed admirably, they lacked a standout lead singer and WMOT execs decided to put mills with the Shades of Love and renamed the group Blue Magic. They were signed with Atco/Atlantic Records in the same year. Blue Magic were one of the earliest acts produced by Norman Harris, a Philadelphia records veteran. The group's harmonies were supported by the MFSB house band.

Contents

[edit] History

Early releases were mainly confined to the R&B chart. Blue Magic became popular in 1974 with their first million-selling US Top 10 hit single Sideshow and Three Ring Circus, both co-written by guitarist Bobby Eli. They became known mostly for their smooth ballads. The album Thirteen Blue Magic Lane in 1975 maintained the group's popularity and spawned their version of the popular dance track We're On The Right Track. Some of MFSB's best work can be found on Magic Of The Blue Welcome To The Club,We're On The Right Track,and Look Me Up. Blue Magic had two R&B chart singles in 1975 and four in 1976. They recorded the hit What's Come Over Me twice, once on their first album and, secondly, as a single with Margie Joseph.

In 1975 the group had their first world tour, which lasted sixteen weeks. The tour included forty-eight states in the United States, five countries in Europe, and ten days in the Philippines. Blue Magic concluded their tour with a fourteen-day engagement in the Virgin Islands. In April 1975 they were chosen as the best new group of the year which earned them an Ebony Award.

With the rise of disco and the group making the mistake of changing their style for the Halloween-oriented album 'Mystic Dragons', which was centered around the single 'Freak-N-Stein,' the group became less popular, and both lead singer Ted Mills and Richard Pratt left for religious reasons in 1981. They returned to the R&B chart with singles in 1981 and 1983 and experienced renewed popularity in 1989 with a comeback album, From Out of the Blue.

In 1996, Ted Mills returned to the music scene as a solo act. He recorded a CD for Casblanca that year entitled 'This Magic Is Real,' featuring a remake of 'Tear It Down.' He is still performing, mostly in multi-act soul music shows. He recently appeared in the touring play Girl He Ain't Worth It with The Manhattans, Me'lissa Morgan and Tito Jackson. A reconstituted Blue Magic, consisting of the two Sawyers, Beaton and lead singer Wade Elliott, also continues to tour in soul music shows and appeared on a 2003 PBS 70s Soul special [available on DVD under the title "Old School Soul Party Live!"].

Blue Magic are known also for their choreography. As a very visually oriented group they have had several television appearances. These include: "Soul Train," "The Mike Douglas Show," "The Jerry Blavat Show," "Dancin' On Air," and "A.M. Philadelphia".

They have shared the stage with other performers such as The Jacksons, Lionel Richie, The Commodores, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Natalie Cole, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Spinners, Earth, Wind & Fire, The New Edition, The Stylistics, Mick Jagger and others. Blue Magic have also sung background vocals for Alyson Williams and the Rolling Stones (in If You Really Want To Be My Friend on the album It's Only Rock'n Roll).

The group’s discography is well represented in a number of compilations, though their original albums were generally unavailable on CD for some years until the first four studio albums for Atco and a live album with Margie Joseph and Major Harris were re-released individually in the USA in 2006.

[edit] Original members

  • Theodore Ted "Wizard" Mills - lead. Left to pursue a solo career in the late 80's.
  • Keith "Duke" Beaton – tenor
  • Wendell Sawyer – baritone
  • Vernon Sawyer – tenor, baritone.
  • Richard Pratt - bass. Left in 1981.

[edit] Current members

  • Wade Elliott – lead vocalist
  • Keith "Duke" Beaton – tenor
  • Wendell Sawyer – baritone
  • Vernon Sawyer – tenor, baritone.

[edit] Notable songs

  • Spell
  • Sideshow
  • Tear It Down
  • What's Come over Me
  • The Oscar
  • From out of the Blue
  • Sweet Woman
  • Looking for a friend
  • Stop to Start
  • Look Me Up
  • Chasing Rainbows
  • Summer Snow
  • Three Ring Circus
  • The Loneliest House On The Block
  • Magic Of The Blue
  • Love Has Found Its Way To Me
  • Greatful
  • It's Like Magic (When You Came)
  • Secret Lover

[edit] Discography

  • Blue Magic (Atco 1974)
  • Magic Of The Blue (Atco 1974)
  • Thirteen Blue Magic Lane (Atco 1975)
  • Live (WMOT 1976) - Featuring Margie Joseph, Major Harris and Blue Magic
  • Mystic Dragons (Atco 1976)
  • Message From The Magic (Atco 1977)
  • Welcome Back (Capitol 1981)
  • Magic # (Atlantic 1983)
  • From Out Of The Blue (OBR 1989)
  • Blue Magic - Greatest Hits (Atlantic / Wea 1990)
  • My Magic is Real (Hot Production 1995)
  • The Best of Blue Magic: Soulful Spell (Rhino / Wea 1996)

[edit] References and external links

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