The Jazz standard “Misty” was one of my mother’s favourite songs and she loved this Country-fied version by Ray Stevens which was a huge hit in 1975.
It’s one of those songs that is indestructible enough to stand almost any kind of interpretation and it fits surprisingly well into the genre. The addition of banjo and a sprightly beat moves the song from a smoky nightclub to a barn dance in rural America but it still retains it’s sense of the blissful euphoria of being in love.
The definitive version of “Misty” is by Johnny Mathis (a concert highlight of my life was seeing him sing it at the Albert Hall in the 80s) and Stevens doesn’t come close to the spine-tingling beauty of that but this is still an original take on it. Stevens is best known for his dreadful comedy records like “Bridget the Midget” and “The Streak”, and a little of his goofy hick persona shows through but even that can’t kill the beautiful, swooning sweetness of the song.
Download: Misty – Ray Stevens (mp3)
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Funny how things go – this was the first version of this song that I ever heard, and had no idea of its history, and the fact that this rendering was something of an aberration. The story I read was that when Stevens went on tour, he and his stage band would run through this number during sound checks and rehearsals, and Ray got to like it so much he recorded it it proper and released it.
Comedy recordwise, he’s a bit hit and miss – I still have a soft spot for “Gitarzan” and “Along Came Jones” but could probably give the rest a miss. Besides, novelty songs have just about gone the way of the dinosaur, haven’t they?
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Apart from Weird Al Jankovich but I don’t think he’s charting anymore
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One of my mum’s fave songs. Johnny Mathis was her fave singer too. I can’t listen to him now, too much her.
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