The Who – Magic Bus

“Magic Bus” – Single by the Who (B-side “Someone’s Coming” (US) “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (UK)). Released July 27, 1968.

The arrangement for “Magic Bus” uses a Latin percussion instrument known as claves, which are pairs of small wooden sticks that make a distinctive high pitched clicking noise when struck together.

The song is usually performed as a duet, where the “Rider”, usually singer Roger Daltrey when live, is riding on the bus every day to see his girl. In the song he asks the “Driver”, usually Townshend, if he can buy the bus from him, with the driver’s initial answer being no. After haggling for a while, the driver finally lets him have it and he vows to drive it to his girlfriend’s house every day

“Magic Bus” was first performed during the Who’s 1968 tour and was part of the regular set from 1971 to 1976 (it was performed frequently in early-mid 1969 and less often in 1970). It has been played less frequently since Keith Moon’s death in 1978, but it was frequently used as the closing song on the 2015-2016 The Who Hits 50! tour. When played live, the song typically featured a lengthy instrumental jam, with some performances lasting over 15 minutes.

A notable performance can be heard on the album Live at Leeds. This version stretches out to nearly eight minutes, with Roger Daltrey joining the jam playing harmonica. This recording was used during the musical montage sequence in the final act of Martin Scorsese’s film Goodfellas as well as the opening sequence of Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire. Another notable performance of the song took place at The Vegas Job concert in 1999. The rhythm and beat of the song was significantly altered to a slower groove, and Townshend and Daltrey ad libbed a few verses. The harmonica jam returned again, and the song stretched out to nearly ten minutes. Another notable performance (recorded on 27 November 2000) appears on Live at the Royal Albert Hall, which morphs into a cover of “Country Line Special.”

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica
• Pete Townshend – backing vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar on “Magic Bus”;
• John Entwistle – bass, backing vocals and lead vocals in “Doctor Doctor”;
• Keith Moon – drums, backing vocals.

Visits: 0