- Misty (song)
-
"Misty" is a jazz standard written in 1954 by the pianist Erroll Garner.
Originally composed as an instrumental following the traditional 32-bar format, the tune later had lyrics by Johnny Burke and became the signature song of Johnny Mathis, reaching #12 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in 1959. It has been covered numerous times, perhaps most notably by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan (1959), Billy Eckstine (1960), Frank Sinatra and Earl Grant (1961), Lloyd Price (1963), and also by Ray Stevens (1975) as a country song. Lesley Gore included a version of the song on her debut album, I'll Cry If I Want To.[1] A version was also recorded by Julie London and an instrumental version by The Shadows.
Erroll Garner's version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1991,[2] and Johnny Mathis version of the song was inducted in 2002. The 1975 country version by Ray Stevens won a Grammy in the category of Music Arrangement of the Year.
The song plays a key role in the plot of the movie Play Misty for Me (1971). Clint Eastwood and Universal paid $25,000 to use the song in the film.
In an infamous scene from the twentieth episode of the fifth season [3] of Magnum, P.I., Tom Selleck, as Magnum, is forced to sing the first few lines of the song (before being mercifully interrupted by gunfire) in a karaoke bar, in what has become notorious as one of the worst renditions of the song ever committed to film.
In 1993, guitarist Larry Coryell covered the song from his album "Fallen Angel."[4]
That same year, alto saxophonist Dave Koz covered the song from his album "Lucky Man."[5]
Clay Aiken recorded the song on his 2010 album Tried and True.
Contents
Chart performance
Johnny Burke
Chart (1959) Peak
positionU.S. Billboard Hot 100 12 Ray Stevens
Chart (1975) Peak
positionU.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 14 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 18 Canadian RPM Hot Country Singles 2 Canadian RPM Top Singles 15 Canadian RPM Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 6 U.K. Singles Chart 2 Irish Singles Chart 2 Australian Singles Chart 5 South African Singles Chart 5 New Zealand Singles Chart 11 Austrian Top 40 11 Certifications
Country Provider Certification United Kingdom BPI Silver Footnotes
- ^ Unterberger, R.. "I'll Cry If I Want To". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/ill-cry-if-i-want-to-r8439/review. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
- ^ Grammy Hall of Fame
- ^ "The Man From Marseilles"
- ^ "Fallen Angel overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r193718.
- ^ "Lucky Man overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r189859.
External links
Categories:- 1950s jazz standards
- 1954 songs
- 1959 singles
- 1963 singles
- 1975 singles
- Ella Fitzgerald songs
- Lloyd Price songs
- Ray Stevens songs
- Johnny Mathis songs
- Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
- Songs with lyrics by Johnny Burke
- Lesley Gore songs
- Jazz composition stubs
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