Magic

Guitarist Duane King and his brother, bassist Nick, joined the Lansing, Michigan band the Next Exit in 1968. The rest of the band included Gary Harger on drums, Mike Motz on lead guitar, and organist Clyde Hamilton. After a name change to Magic and a single on their own label in early 1969, Hamilton left the band, and Motz was replaced by Joey Murcia, a Miami native who had played with that city's Birdwatchers. Murcia, as it happened, was a session player for TK Records in Miami and assured the band he could get them a record deal, so Magic packed up everything and moved to Miami. TK Records had an entirely black R&B roster at the time, but Magic, who often covered R&B songs, fit right in, becoming the label's first white signee. They recorded their first LP, Enclosed, in the summer of 1969, which was officially released on their own Armadillo label. The summer of 1970 found Magic returning to Lansing in search of a major-label contract. A Detroit producer, Scott Regan, helped to get the band signed to the Motown-owned Rare Earth label, and, in 1971, Magic began recording their second album. The self-titled album was released in 1972 to favorable reviews and featured Stevie Wonder playing keyboards on several songs, but not long after the album's release, Motown moved to California, closing down Rare Earth and leaving Magic without a label. They recorded some demos in the hopes of landing another record deal, but the band never recovered from the Motown move and called it quits. Murcia went back to session work and played with numerous major artists -- the Bee Gees, Joe Walsh, and Joe Cocker among them -- who recorded in Miami. ~ Stanton Swihart