The Music That Frees Your Soul
In the late 1970s, as disco fever swept the nation and punk rock snarled from the underground, a different kind of magic was captivating teenage hearts. It was the sound of Shaun Cassidy, a fresh-faced star with a mop of feathery hair and a smile that could melt glaciers. While he was already a household name from his role on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, it was his music that truly made him a teen idol, and no song encapsulates that era’s innocent charm quite like his 1978 hit, “Do You Believe in Magic”.
This wasn’t an original composition for Shaun; it was a revival of a classic. The song was first written by John Sebastian and recorded by his folk-rock group, The Lovin’ Spoonful, in 1965. Their version was a quintessential slice of ’60s folk-pop, a joyful, rambling tune that soared on the back of a jangling guitar and a harmonica solo that felt like a sunbeam. Sebastian’s lyrics spoke of music’s power to transcend genres—from “jug band music or rhythm and blues”—and to bring happiness and a sense of liberation. It was a song about the pure, unadulterated joy that music can bring to a person’s soul, a magic that “can free her whenever it starts.”
Fast forward to 1978. Shaun Cassidy took this nostalgic gem and gave it a glossy, late-70s makeover. While The Lovin’ Spoonful’s version was loose and earthy, Cassidy’s was slick and polished, with a driving beat and a soaring, anthemic quality that made it perfect for pop radio. This wasn’t just a cover; it was a reinterpretation for a new generation. The song was a modest but notable hit for him, peaking at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It appeared on his 1977 multi-platinum album, Born Late. For a generation that may have been too young to remember the original, this was their first encounter with the song’s beautiful sentiment.
And that’s where the real story lies for many of us who came of age during that time. Shaun Cassidy wasn’t just singing a song; he was selling a feeling. His version of “Do You Believe in Magic” was an invitation to a world of carefree happiness. It was the soundtrack to our first crushes, our late-night dances in the basement, and the poster-filled bedrooms where we’d dream of escape. The magic wasn’t just in the music; it was in the experience of youth itself—the feeling that anything was possible and that a simple, three-minute song could be the most important thing in the world. It was a time when pop music was a benevolent force, a friend you could always count on to lift your spirits. The song, much like Shaun Cassidy himself, was a symbol of that innocence, a warm and comforting sound in a world that was starting to feel a little more complicated. It reminds us of a time when the biggest choice we had to make was which song to play next on the radio, and the answer, more often than not, was one that made us believe in magic.