Misty is a jazz standard written and originally recorded as an instrumental by pianist Erroll Garner in 1954 for the album Contrasts. Lyrics were added later by Johnny Burke. A vocal version by Johnny Mathis appeared on his 1959 album Heavenly and was released as a single that year, reaching No. 12 on the US pop chart and becoming Mathis's signature song. Garner's instrumental and Mathis's vocal version have both been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the song was listed at No. 174 on the Songs of the Century. Garner reportedly conceived Misty during a thunderstorm flight from San Francisco to Chicago, tapping the melody on his knees as he hummed it. The tune has been widely covered by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, and it even appeared in Clint Eastwood's film Play Misty for Me; Ray Stevens released a successful country version in 1975.
