Welcome to Week 1 of The Definitive Version, a new weekly feature of my website. You can read more about the project here.
Song: Misty
Composer: Errol Garner
Lyricist: Johnny Burke
Form: AABA, 32-bar
Standard Key: E-flat major
Composed by Errol Garner in 1954 and first recorded by him in 1955, Misty is a super-standard: a song that’s not optional for anyone making a living singing standards. Lyrics were added by Johnny Burke, best known for his collaborations with Jimmy Van Heusen and others. It was a hit for Johnny Mathis in 1959 and has remained his signature song. ASCAP lists at least 160 recorded versions, though that’s probably many less than the actual number. The appeal of the song comes in part from the fun melody and chord changes (cycling through ii-V-I’s, melody landing on the major 7, e.g.) as well as the direct, emotionally potent lyrics (“On my own, would I wander through this wonderland alone? Never knowing my right foot from my left, my hat from my glove…I’m too misty, and too much in love.”).
Definitive Version: Sarah Vaughan with Quincy Jones & His Orchestra (1958) (Album: Vaughan & Violins)
Form: One chorus plus instrumental intro and tag ending
Feel: In-tempo ballad with some rubato
Key: C major
Instrumentation: Solo vocal, rhythm section, horns, vibraphone, strings
Mathis’s is the recording Wikipedia mentions, but The Divine One’s version is the definitive one. Sarah Vaughan was a master of sophisticated phrasing and virtuosic melodic embellishment, and this holds true here. Her melodic embellishments are so iconic that they have been imitate by other singers interpreting the song. The arrangement is straightforward and supportive of her, with beautiful instrumental choices made by a 25-year-old Quincy Jones. Sarah finds the bluesy core of the song (alongside saxophone fills from Zoot Sims), which she balances with her trademark sophistication and poise. For extra credit, compare this definitive version to her 1973 interpretation on Live in Japan.
Also Recommended:
- Ella Fitzgerald (from her classic 1960 album Live in Berlin)
- Carmen McRae (on her album in tribute to Sarah Vaughan)
- Frank Sinatra (from 1962’s Sinatra and Strings
- Johnny Mathis (the biggest commercial hit, as mentioned above)