1965 Rock Classic, Ranked Among 'Greatest Songs of All Time,' Was Rejected by Record Labels Before Becoming a Major Hit

While the British Invasion was a boon to many U.K. bands, not to mention rock ‘n’ roll overall, some groups that didn’t fit the trend faced a bit of an uphill struggle in the mid-1960s. Take, for example, the Lovin’ Spoonful: Most music execs didn’t think the Canadian-American band’s folk-influenced sound would sell.

“We were turned down by every record company in New York City,” lead singer and songwriter John Sebastian told Mix in 2008.

“But we’d play each night,” he continued. “For a while, we were working at a club that was mainly for beatniks. The crowd would snap their fingers in mild appreciation of what we were doing. Hardly the rock ‘n’ roll audience of your dreams!”

Some audience members did appreciate what the Lovin’ Spoonful was doing onstage, however — and one of them inspired the song that would end up being the band’s debut single, “Do You Believe in Magic.”

“There were some odd cabaret regulations back in those days, and one of them outlawed dancing,” Sebastian explained.

“People in these clubs didn’t routinely dance anyway like they did uptown at the Peppermint Lounge,” he continued. “But this one night, while we were playing our set, a girl started dancing by herself. It wasn’t the Lindy, but some new, personally expressive set of movements, the kind of dancing you were going to see at Woodstock in a few years. We looked at each other, and without saying a word shared a common thought: Our moment had arrived! Sure enough, the following week the audience had changed. Those 50-year-old beatniks had drifted off, replaced by a horde of 16-year-old girls. I took that memory, and in the next couple of days started to work on an idea that would become ‘Do You Believe in Magic.’”

The band went on to record the tune on a demo with three other tracks. Unfortunately, even though Sebastian said he knew “Do You Believe in Magic” was destined to be a hit, record execs weren’t convinced.

“Once we finished the four-song demo, we shopped it around, but nobody wanted it!” Sebastian said, adding, “I owned the acetate for about 10 months before Kama Sutra became interested. We kept being told that no one had heard a sound like this and that it was terrible!”

Of course, music history has shown Lovin’ Spoonful’s sound was anything but terrible. “Do You Believe in Magic,” which became the title track on the band’s first album, peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped to establish the group’s status as pop culture icons.

“Within two weeks, we went from playing high schools to being headliners at the Crescendo, the wildest club in L.A.,” Sebastian said.

More hits were in the future for the Lovin’ Spoonful, including “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice,” “Daydream,” “Nashville Cats” and “Summer in the City.” And decades later, “Do You Believe in Magic” — which was ranked at #216 on Rolling Stone‘s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list — is still considered a classic.

Related: 1967 Classic, Originally a Sarcastic Jab at the Monkees, Became a Timeless Rock Anthem