THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

706-Johnny Mathis-Misty.

1959-Number 12 single.

Best Bit-At 0-14. Hey Mr DJ,’Play Misty for me.’

Johnny Mathis was born John Royce Mathis, on September 30th, 1935, in Gilmer, Texas, United States, with worldwide record sales in excess of 360 million, he is one of the best selling artists of all time. Johnny Mathis has recorded in many musical genres, including ‘Traditional Pop,’ ‘Latin American,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ ‘Show tunes,’ Country,’ and ‘Disco,’ his 1958 Album ‘Johnny’s Greatest Hits,’ which is often described as the ‘original greatest hits package,’ once held the record of most weeks on the American Billboard 200 Album chart, notching up a total of 490, three of which were spent at Number 1. The extensive discography of Johnny Mathis includes 73 studio Albums released between 1956-2017, and 113 singles issued between 1956-2013, there are also 30 official compilation Albums, and three live Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, 20 of his singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Chances Are,’ (1957) and ‘Too Much, Too Little, Too Late,’ (1978) which was a duet with Deniece Williams, both making the Number 1 position. On Billboard ‘Misty’ peaked at Number 12, the same position it reached in the UK. In the UK, Johnny Mathis has had 12 top 40 hits, with ‘When a Child Is Born,’ making Number 1 in 1976.

‘Misty’ in it’s original form is considered to be a ‘Jazz Standard.’ It was written as an instrumental by the American Jazz pianist Erroll Garner, (1921-1977) in 1954, and recorded for his 1955 Album ‘Contrasts.’ Garner was inspired to write ‘Misty while on a flight from San Francisco to Chicago, which passed through a thunderstorm. As the plane descended into the Chicago airport, Garner looked through the window to see a rainbow glowing through a haze, and was moved to begin composing ‘Misty’ on the spot. The lyrics to ‘Misty’ were added sometime between 1955-1956 by the American lyricist Johnny Burke, (1908-1964) at the insistence of the pianist Herb Mesick. It was said that Mesick would play the tune every time Burke came into the room, until Burke said, ‘Alright, give me the damn music, and I’ll do it.’ It is said that Burke wrote the lyrics in two to three hours in his bedroom.

As a teenager Johnny Mathis had heard Garner’s original version of ‘Misty,’ and had told him that if words were ever added he would record the song himself. It finally came to fruition in 1959 when Johnny Mathis recorded the song for his eighth studio Album ‘Heavenly,’ which would become his most successful studio Album, spending 295 weeks on the Billboard Album chart. Both ‘Misty’ and it’s parent Album ‘Heavenly’ were produced by Mitch Miller, (1911-2010) and Al Ham (1925-2001.) At first there was no plans to release ‘Misty’ as a single, with the song, and the Erroll Garner original, being sent only to the broadcasting industry as a back-to-back single for promotional use, but such was the interest in the Johnny Mathis recording, that Columbia Records decided to issue the track as a single in September 1959.

‘Misty’ was first recorded with vocals by the American Jazz vocalist Dakota Staton, (1930-2007) in 1957, with the first vocal version that attracted attention being by Sarah Vaughan in 1958. The most successful version of ‘Misty’ on both sides of the Atlantic is the 1975 recording by the American Country singer Ray Stevens, whose version made Number 14 on Billboard, and Number 2 in the UK. In 1971 the American actor and film director Clint Eastwood, who was always a fan of the Erroll Garner recording, used that version in his 1971 psychological thriller film ‘Play Misty for Me’ (see also best songs 251.) Garner drove a hard bargain, by charging Eastwood $25,000 for the right to use the song in the film.

‘Look at me I’m as helpless as a kitten up a tree, and I feel like I’m clinging to a cloud. I can’t understand, I get misty, holding your hand. Walk my way, and a thousand violins begin to play, or it might be the sound of your hello. That music I hear, I get misty the moment you’re near.’