Heart’s Debut Hit ‘Magic Man’ Rises From Archives Of ‘Midnight Special’

A video of Heart’s “Magic Man” from the March 4, 1977 edition of Midnight Special is now available to view at the official YouTube channel of the live performance series.

The song, written by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson and produced by Mike Flicker, had come out as a single in the US in June 1976, a year after its release in the band’s native Canada. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No.85 and climbed steadily over the following three months to reach a No.9 peak in early November, when the Steve Miller Band were at No.1 with “Rock’n Me.” Read about and watch an SNB performance on Midnight Special.

“Magic Man” was also a Top 10 hit in both the Netherlands and Australia and came from Heart’s debut album Dreamboat Annie, which itself achieved a No.7 peak in America and was certified platinum in November 1976. The LP also included the subsequent singles “Crazy On You” and the title track.

Just after the success of “Magic Man,” Ann Wilson told UK music weekly Sounds of the group’s rapid rise: “The whole thing has been like a fairy tale. And it hasn’t been a bunch of hype. The people have liked it and bought it…that’s what’s been blowing my mind about the band’s success. We don’t come on and exhibit the same things that are super-popular right now, but there seems to be a need for it.”

This edition of Midnight Special was hosted by KC and the Sunshine Band and featured two other performances by Heart, of “Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)” and “White Lightning and Wine.” Other stars of that week’s show included ABBA, singing “Dancing Queen,” Jose Feliciano, comedian Andy Kaufman and, in a taped insert from Canada, Gordon Lightfoot, with “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

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