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" Misty Blue" is a song written by Bob Montgomery that has been recorded and made commercially successful by several music artists. Although Montgomery wrote the song for a different artist in mind, it was brought first to the attention of Wilma Burgess in 1966. It was recorded by Eddy Arnold the following year, both versions were top five country hits. A decade later, blues artist Dorothy Moore released the highest-charting version of the song and it reached the top ten in several different radio formats. Following Moore's revival of the track, numerous artists re-covered the tune, including country artist Billie Jo Spears. Spears's version would also go on to become a successful single release. Numerous other artists and musicians of different genres have recorded their own versions of "Misty Blue". The song is now considered both a country music and blues standard.
"Misty Blue" would ultimately become Burgess's signature song and would be re-recorded by her several times throughout her career. Paul Wadey of The Independent called Burgess's version of the song "soulful", noting that she was "an underrated song stylist who was at her best when handling romantic ballads."
| US Hot Country Singles ( Billboard) | 4 |
Arnold's version of "Misty Blue" appeared on his 1967 studio album with RCA Records entitled, The Last Word in Lonesome. Greg Adams of AllMusic called Arnold's version "pure MOR pop vocal material" and would later say, " Arnold's smooth crooning and Bill Walker's easy listening string arrangements are bound for the supper club."
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 41 |
| US Hot 100 ( Billboard) | 57 |
| US Adult Contemporary Tracks ( Billboard) | 13 |
| US Hot Country Singles ( Billboard) | 3 |
It was through the Joe Simon version that Malaco Records owner Tommy Couch was familiar with "Misty Blue" which Couch would record in 1973 with Dorothy Moore, a native of Jackson, MS who had recorded a number of tracks at the Malaco Studios in Jackson. Moore would recall receiving a morning call at her home from Couch inviting Moore to Couch's studio to hear a song he deemed perfect for her: (Dorothy Moore quote:)"I didn’t have a car at the time, so I took the bus to Malaco where I listened to the song and liked it...The rhythm section was there so we decided to record it. They had the lyrics typed out and put in front of me. And we did that record in one take. 'Misty Blue' was meant for me" - although Moore admits: "I recorded it just like I did any other. I didn’t say: 'This is a hit.' I never saw great coming."
Evidently reluctant to release the track themselves, Malaco Records shopped Moore's "Misty Blue" to major labels without success, with the track remaining "in the can" until November 1975 when the cash-strapped Malaco Records used the last of its resources to press Moore's "Misty Blue" which they released themselves. When Moore was advised of her recording's belated release by Couch (Dorothy Moore quote:)"I asked come in to and add one thing to it. I had a copy of the recording and the intro was too long - and so I put that 'mmmm-ooh-a-ooh' over the first few notes." Also Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section veteran Jimmy Johnson overdubbed his rhythm guitar work on to the 1973 track. Malaco Records did shop the updated track to Florida-based TK Records whose owner Henry Stone passed on releasing Moore's "Misty Blue" while agreeing for TK to act as national distributor for Malaco's own release of the track which Stone began promoting heavily via his own independent network.
After receiving its initial airplay in Chicago and Washington DC, Moore's single broke in the southern states in April 1976 and three months later it was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 1976 the single reached number 2 on the R&B chart and 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as number 14 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 19 song for 1976.
"Misty Blue" was also a UK hit, reaching number 5 there on the chart dated for the week of 8 August 1976. Moore's single also achieved hit status in Australia (5), Canada (4), New Zealand (4), and South Africa (11).
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 5 |
| Brazil | 19 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 4 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary | 7 |
| New Zealand | 4 |
| South Africa | 11 |
| UK | 5 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 | 3 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 14 |
| US Billboard R&B | 2 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 3 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 41 |
| Canada | 62 |
| New Zealand | 11 |
| UK | 40 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 19 |
| US Cash Box | 18 |
In 2002, the English trip hop trio Amillionsons released a song which heavily sampled the track titled "Mistiblue", which reached number 39 in the UK. Monica covered the song on her 1998 multi-platinum album The Boy Is Mine. Mary J. Blige performed it at one of the Share My World Tour shows, which was released into The Tour. Review for The Tour by Mary J. Blige. "Reviews & Previews – Albums", edited by Paul Verna. Billboard. August 8, 1998. p. 20. Retrieved December 11, 2016. Cyndi Lauper covered the song as part of her classic country album Detour in 2016 and also included it as part of the set list on the Detour Tour.
Spears had recently regained success with the help of Butler's modern production and had major hits with songs like "Blanket on the Ground" and "What I've Got in Mind". After internationally issuing a single, Spears released "Misty Blue" to the American market in May 1976 via United Artists Records. The song would peak within the top five of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that year, becoming Spears's fourth top-ten single. "Misty Blue" was then issued on Spears's 1976 studio album entitled What I've Got in Mind.
| Canada Country Tracks ( RPM) | 4 |
| US Hot Country Singles ( Billboard) | 5 |
| US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard) | 41 |
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