Ray Stevens: “Misty” (1975)
To a DJ, the art of the segue is key. Typically this takes the form of “beat matching” or matching the tempo of the ending of one song with the beginning of the next. Matching the key of the two songs can also make for a pleasing transition.
Of course, the transitions between songs is of importance when playing to a dance floor primarily–but not solely.
A skilled, conscientious disc jockey is mindful of the art of the segue in any setting.
My wedding and club gigs are, but for the occasional one-off, behind me at this point. But I take immense satisfaction in playing once a month at a local retirement facility, where the residents are as appreciative of the music as any party crowd I’ve ever been in front of.
And a segue in this setting is often merely a mood-changer. From a sad ballad to something playful and uptempo, or vice versa.
Which brings me to Ray Stevens’ 1975 cover of Erroll Garner jazz standard and Johnny Mathis signature song “Misty”, a happy accident that still brings happiness as of August 11, 2025 at Brookdale Senior Living in Mt. Lebanon, PA.
Normally I’d play the most definitive version of a familiar old chestnut. But when the playlist feels a bit ballad heavy, I feel the need to shake things up a little. Stevens’ “Misty” is the senior equivalent of rocking out.
Despite the residents’ lack of familiarity with the version, it goes over tremendously well.
I refer to the song as a happy accident because comedic country artist (and serious musician) Ray Stevens–known for hits from the sublime to the ridiculous such as “Everything is Beautiful” and “The Streak”–had no intention of recording it.
As he recounts in his intro to the song in the below video, his touring band was in the studio, not to record but to rehearse for a TV performance, when they filled some idle time basically sending up the Mathis classic.
Liking what he was hearing, Stevens called the sound engineer at home and asked him to come to the studio to record it.
The band captured the song in a mere two takes, which likely explains why they also captured the loose, galloping, fun feel of the jam session that gave birth to it.
As musical accidents go this one was, well, miraculous. A 1954 jazz standard originally composed as an instrumental. Covered by crooner Johnny Mathis as well as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. And yet sounding like it was written for banjo, fiddle and pedal steel and meant to be sung with a southern drawl.
It shouldn’t work. But it’s perfect. In fact, so perfect that it won a Grammy for Best Musical Arrangement.
When one of Stevens’ musical cohorts in the video says, “and I like this version better than Johnny Mathis'” it doesn’t sound the least bit sacrilegious to me. I happen to share the sentiment.
The instrumental bridge alone, with its interplay of steel guitar, piano, and an insistent cowbell…considerations of music genre preference aside, pop music is seldom so well executed. Legendary rock bands rehearse material for an album for weeks. This was pulled together in a single (and quite unintentional) session.
And it certainly sets the seniors’ toes tapping. Oh, and the segue? I came out of this song with Perry Como’s “And I Love You So”. From the playful to the plaintive. From pickin’ and grinnin’ to poignant.
Nailed it.
Every Moment Has A Song 