1960 song by The Drifters
"This Magic Moment " is a song composed by lyricist Doc Pomus and pianist Mort Shuman .[2] It was first recorded by The Drifters , with Ben E. King singing lead.
Original Drifters version
It was recorded first by Ben E. King and the Drifters , at Bell Sound Studios in New York City.[1] The Drifters version spent 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 16 on April 2, 1960.[3]
Jay and the Americans version
In 1968, Jay and the Americans released a version of the song, which became the song's most widely successful release. Their version spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 6 on March 1, 1969,[7] while reaching No. 1 on Canada 's "RPM 100"[8] and No. 11 on Billboard 's Easy Listening chart.[9] The song also debuted at No. 4 in the first issue of RPM 's "Young Adult" adult contemporary chart.[10] The single earned gold record status from the Recording Industry Association of America .[11]
In popular culture
The original version of the song was used in the following productions:
Lou Reed 's version, from a Doc Pomus tribute album, Till the Night is Gone , was featured in David Lynch 's film Lost Highway (1997).