Misty (song)
{{Short description|1954 instrumental with lyrics added in 1959}}
{{about|the jazz standard|the Kate Bush song|50 Words for Snow{{!}}50 Words for Snow}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Misty
| cover = Misty_-_Johnny_Mathis.jpg
| caption = Artwork for US 7-inch single
| type = single
| artist = Johnny Mathis
| album = Heavenly
| B-side = The Story of Our Love
| released = September 14, 1959
| recorded = April 9, 1959
| studio = Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City
| genre =
| length = 3:38
| label = Columbia
| writer = Johnny Burke, Erroll Garner
| producer = Mitch Miller, Al Ham(1993) The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records C4K-48932.
| prev_title = Small World
| prev_year = 1959
| next_title = The Best of Everything
| next_year = 1959
| misc = {{External music video|header=Official audio|{{YouTube|76t8USiIzuA|"Misty"}}}}
}}
"Misty" is a jazz standard written and originally recorded in 1954 by pianist Erroll Garner. He composed it as an instrumental in the traditional 32-bar format, and recorded it on July 27, 1954 Facebook for the album Contrasts. Lyrics were added later by Johnny Burke. It appeared on Johnny Mathis' 1959 album Heavenly, and this recording reached number 12 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart later that year. It has since become Mathis’ signature song.
The song has been recorded by many other artists, including versions by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Ray Stevens who released a hit country version in 1975. Recordings by both Johnny Mathis and Erroll Garner have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was ranked number 174 in the list of the Songs of the Century compiled by Recording Industry Association of America and National Endowment for the Arts.{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/ |title=Songs of the Century|date=March 7, 2001|work=CNN }}
Composition
Erroll Garner was inspired to write "Misty" on a flight from San Francisco to Chicago which passed through a thunderstorm: as the plane descended into O'Hare, Garner looked through the window to see a rainbow glowing through a haze and was moved to begin composing "Misty" on the spot, striking imaginary piano keys on his knees as he hummed the notes he imagined (causing his neighboring passenger to summon a flight attendant to assist the apparently ill Garner).{{cite book|first=Mick|last=Brown|year=2007|title=Smoketown: the untold story of the other Black renaissance|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=NYC|page=226|isbn=978-1-5011-2239-2}}
The lyrics were added later by Johnny Burke. Burke was initially reluctant to create lyrics for the tune but was persuaded to do so at the insistence of his pianist, Herb Mesick. {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TX0_EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA297 |title=The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire |first= Ted |last=Gioia |date=2021 |pages=296–297 |isbn=9780190087173 |publisher=Oxford University Press }} It was said that Mesick played the tune every time Burke came into the room, until Burke said: "Alright, give me the damn music, and I'll do it." Burke wrote the lyrics in two to three hours.
Early recordings
Erroll Garner first recorded his rendition of "Misty" on piano on July 27, 1954, accompanied by Wyatt Ruther on bass and Fats Heard on drums.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQglDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA259 |title=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings: Volume 3|first= Steve |last=Sullivan |date= 2017 |page=259 |isbn=9781442254497 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers }} The recording was first released in October 1954 and credited to the Erroll Garner Trio,{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42|title=Reviews of New Jazz Records|magazine=Billboard|page=42|date= October 2, 1954}} and it was included in Garner's album Contrasts released in December 1954.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KiMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40 |title=The Greatest Name in Jazz - New Releases |magazine=Billboard|page=40 |date=December 11, 1959}} Garner later re-recorded the song with an orchestral arrangement by Mitch Miller for his album Other Voices in 1957.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1woEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA4 |title=Pubber Hussle on Misty Licensing |magazine=Billboard|page=4 |date= September 14, 1959}} Instrumental versions were also recorded by Georgie Auld and Johnny Costa in 1955. Garner's original recording was ranked No. 174 in the list of the Songs of the Century compiled by RIAA and NEA.
After lyrics were written for "Misty", Dakota Staton was the first to record the song in 1957. A number of artists also recorded the song, but it was the recording by Sarah Vaughan that drew greater attention to it. Sarah Vaughan recorded the song in a July 1958 Paris session, with an arrangement by Quincy Jones for her album Vaughan and Violins. It was released backed with "Broken Hearted Melody", and it reached No. 6 on the Bubbling Under chart in July 1959.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TggEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA29 |title=Bubbling Under the Hot 100 |magazine=Billboard|page=29 |date= July 20, 1959}} Those who recorded the song after Sarah Vaughan included Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and most notably Johnny Mathis, who created the best-known version of it.
Johnny Mathis version
=Background=
Johnny Mathis first heard Erroll Garner play the tune when he was a teenager and told Garner that he would love to sing it if Garner had lyrics for it. A few years later, having heard Sarah Vaughan's version of the song, he chose "Misty" as one of the possible songs for his 1959 album Heavenly and informed Erroll Garner that he would record the song. However, at the recording session for the album, it was scheduled that Johnny Mathis should record a show tune rather than "Misty". Accounts differ as to whether it was Erroll Garner or his business manager, Martha Glaser, who turned up unexpectedly at the recording session,{{cite web |url= https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19778/m1/#track/3 |title=Pop Chronicles - Show 23 - Smack Dab in the Middle on Route 66. [Part 2], The Music Men. [Part 1] - 3. Track3 - Johnny Mathis, Mitch Miller |first=John |last=Gilliland }}{{Cite web|url=https://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2014/11/27/making-misty-the-legendary-johnny-mathis-recording/|title=Making "Misty": The Legendary Johnny Mathis Recording (2010)|date=27 November 2014|website=Morningsonmaplestreet.com|access-date=30 April 2021}} and Johnny Mathis then insisted on recording "Misty" to fulfil his promise to record the song with the unexpected guest in attendance.
Glenn Osser arranged the song at short notice, with Andy Ackers playing the piano. Johnny Mathis revealed that, on the high-pitched note when he first started singing "On my own" after the instrumental break, he used a technique of standing a distance from the microphone and then walked slowly toward it to create a fade in effect. Johnny Mathis said that "Misty" was the song of which he was the most proud, because he recorded the song the way he wanted to, rather than relying on the producer, Mitch Miller.
The song was initially released as a back-to-back single together with Garner's version intended only for those in the broadcasting industry, but due to heavy demand Columbia released Mathis' recording as a commercial single in September 1959. It reached No. 12 on Billboard Hot 100. Although the song is not Mathis' highest charting song, it became his signature song. Mathis received his first Grammy nomination for the song at the 3rd Annual Grammy Awards in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category.{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/johnny-mathis/5101 |title=Johnny Mathis |work=Grammy Awards }} Both Mathis' and Garner's recordings were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, Garner in 1991 and Mathis in 2002.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPAMSU3pEd4C&pg=PA36 |title=American Popular Song Lyricists: Oral Histories, 1920s-1960s|first= Michael|last= Whorf |date= 2014|page=36 |isbn=9780786490615 |publisher=McFarland }}
=Chart performance=
==Weekly singles==
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1959–60)
!Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|12|artist=Johnny Mathis|artistid=28869 }} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|12|artist= Johnny Mathis}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardrandbhiphop|10|artist= Johnny Mathis}} |
''Play Misty for Me''
Clint Eastwood used the instrumental version in his 1971 film Play Misty for Me, a low-budget film that proved to be a box-office success. Eastwood was said to have paid Garner a $25,000 fee for the right to use the tune in his film.
Ray Stevens version
{{Infobox song
| name = Misty
| image = Misty by ray stevens US single side-A.png
| alt = side-A label
| caption = Side A of the US single
| type = single
| artist = Ray Stevens
| album = Misty
| B-side = Sunshine
| released = April 1975
| recorded = c. February 1975
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length =
| label = Barnaby
| writer = Erroll Garner
| producer = Ray Stevens
| prev_title = Moonlight Special
| prev_year = 1974
| next_title = Indian Love Call
| next_year = 1975
}}
=Background and release=
In 1975, singer Ray Stevens released an up-tempo country rendition of this song. It is the title track of his twelfth studio album. Stevens recounted that the song was recorded on the second take when experimenting in the studio. His version won a Grammy in the category of Music Arrangement of the Year.{{YouTube|0wyAdBVTCjU|Ray Stevens - About "Misty" and Live Performance}} This version peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom.
=Chart performance=
{{col-begin|width=70%}}
{{col-2}}
==Weekly singles==
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1975) !Peak |
| {{singlechart|Austria|11|artist=Ray Stevens |song=Misty}} |
| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web|url=https://imgur.com/a/8a2fnGs|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1975|publisher= Kent Music Report |issue= 79 |via= Imgur |date= December 29, 1975 |access-date= January 15, 2022 }}
| style="text-align:center;"|5 |
| {{singlechart|Canadacountry|2|chartid=3979}} |
| {{singlechart|Canadatopsingles|15|chartid=3996a}} |
| {{singlechart|Canadaadultcontemporary|6|chartid=3967 }} |
| Euro Hit 50
| style="text-align:center;"|9 |
| {{singlechart|Ireland2|2|artist=Ray Stevens |song=Misty}} |
| {{singlechart|New Zealand|11|artist=Ray Stevens |song=Misty}} |
| South African Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|5 |
| {{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|2|artist=Ray Stevens |artistid=14044}} |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|14 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening{{cite book |first=Joel |last=Whitburn |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=1993 |title=Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 |publisher=Record Research |page=229}}
| style="text-align:center;"|8 |
{{col-2}}
==Year-end charts==
{{col-end}}
Other notable versions
- Count Basie, Dance Along with Basie (1959){{cite book |last1=Gioia |first1=Ted |title=The Jazz Standards |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |date=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-993739-4 |page=269}}
- Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1961{{cite web |title=A Bing Crosby Discography |url=http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/CBS.html |website=BING magazine |publisher=International Club Crosby |access-date=December 8, 2017}} for use on his radio show, and it was included on the album With All My Heart (2012){{cite web |title=Bing Crosby : With All My Heart |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/with-all-my-heart-mw0002464752 |website=AllMusic |access-date=December 8, 2017}}
- Lesley Gore recorded a version of "Misty" for her debut album, I'll Cry If I Want To (1963). The recording was used in a TikTok trend (in which a user would show themselves without a feature, such as glasses, and then show a different person with that feature) and reached number-one on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart in January 2024.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/lesley-gore-misty-number-1-tiktok-billboard-top-50-1235579492/|title=Lesley Gore's 'Misty' Becomes the Oldest Song to Lead TikTok Billboard Top 50|first=Kevin|last=Rutherford|magazine=Billboard|date=January 11, 2024|access-date=January 12, 2024}}
- Aretha Franklin, Yeah!!! (1965){{cite web |title=Aretha Franklin : Yeah!!! In Person with Her Quartet |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/yeah%21%21%21-in-person-with-her-quartet-mw0000889354 |website=AllMusic |access-date=August 1, 2020}}
- Groove Holmes hit the Hot 100 with his version (1966){{cite web|title=www.allmusic.com|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/misty-mt0005735111|website=allmusic.com|accessdate=July 13, 2022}}
- Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio – 1974 – "Misty" – Three Blind Mice
- Marty Robbins included a version on his album Marty After Midnight (1962)
- Samara Joy included a version on her album Linger Awhile (2022)
- Laufey included a version on her album Bewitched (2023)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-0/misty.htm "Misty" at jazzstandards.com]
- [https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/misty/ Misty chord/melody and solo studies for guitar]
- {{YouTube|dSO8IzLkkts|Ray Stevens - Misty}}
- {{YouTube|id=4Juq0IYDhK8|title=Marty Robbins - Misty}}
{{Johnny Mathis}}
{{Ray Stevens}}
{{Sarah Vaughan}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Misty (song)}}
Category:Songs with lyrics by Johnny Burke (lyricist)
Category:Ella Fitzgerald songs
Category:Little Willie Littlefield songs
Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Category:Jazz compositions in E-flat major