Sep 1, 20222 min read

Misty Blue - Dorothy Moore (1976) 9/2/22

Today's "Great Song of the '70s was a Top 5 hit on Billboard's Country Chart 3 times by 3 different artists, but the most successful version of all never appeared on ANY country chart!

In fact, "Misty Blue" became a Rhythm & Blues standard!

Here's how it all came down (and be sure to check all the links below).

Bob Montgomery, a high school classmate of Buddy Holly, wrote the song for Brenda Lee, but Brenda turned it down. Big mistake.

In 1966, Wilma Burgess, took it to #4 on the Country Chart.

In 1967, Eddy Arnold took his version to #3.

Then, in 1972, Joe Simon released an excellent Rhythm & Blues version that received some regional airplay, but did not chart.

Taking a cue from Joe, Dorothy Moore recorded a version for Malaco Records in1973. Malaco, a small label with virtually no money to release or promote the song, tried to sell it to several major labels for distribution. Incredibly, there were no takers!

The song was then retooled a bit, but sat in limbo until late 1975, when TK Records offered to release and distribute the song using the Malaco label.

THIS time, the song took off, and in early 1976, "Misty Blue" was a Top 10 hit in 6 countries. In the US, it was a "Triple Chart Hit," reaching #2 on the R&B Chart, #3 on The Hot 100, and #14 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. In Canada: #4 AC and #7 Top 40.