Blue Magic

by William RuhlmannBlue Magic, an R&B vocal quintet whose members were Theodore Mills, Vernon Sawyer, Wendell Sawyer, Keith Beaton, and Richard Pratt, was formed in Philadelphia and signed to Atlantic Records in 1973. They hit the Top 40 of the R&B singles chart with their first three 45s before breaking through and crossing over with "Sideshow," released in April 1974, which went gold, topped the R&B charts, and became a Top Ten pop hit. "Three Ring Circus," their next single, made the R&B Top Ten and the pop Top 40. Blue Magic had two more R&B chart singles in 1975 and four in 1976 before suffering a career slump, but they returned with R&B chart singles in 1981 and 1983 and made a comeback album, From Out of the Blue, in 1989.