The legendary pianist Erroll Garner’s most famous composition, “Misty,” was written as an instrumental in 1954 for his 1955 album Contrasts.  Lyrics were added in 1959 by Johnny Burke and it became the signature song of Johnny Mathis, and was subsequently recorded by Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Etta James, and countless others.  Garner’s version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1991.

In this excerpt from an interview with the drummer Art Taylor, Garner describes how he wrote “Misty:”