Erroll Garner Misty ( Mercury Records 1954)

Misty is a jazz standard written in 1954 by pianist Erroll Garner. He composed it instrumental on the traditional 32bar format and recorded it for the album Contrasts (1955). Lyrics were added later by Johnny Burke. It became the signature song of Johnny Mathis, appearing on his 1959 album Heavenly and reaching number 12 on the U. S. Pop Singles chart later that year. Country and pop singer Ray Stevens had a number 14 hit with his cover version of Misty in 1975 on the Billboard Hot 100. This version reached number two in the United Kingdom. The song has been recorded many times, including versions by Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, and Sarah Vaughan. Mathis heard Garner play the song and told him that he d love to sing it if Garner had lyrics for it. Garner was in attendance when Mathis later recorded the song. The Mathis recording of Misty sold well over two million copies in the U. S. alone. Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1923 January 2, 1977;