Midnight Blue (Melissa Manchester Song)
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"Midnight Blue" is a song by American singer and songwriter
Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...
, written by herself alongside
Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1944) is an American lyricist, singer, songwriter, and painter. Early life and career Carole Bayer was born in New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She gradu ...
and produced by
Vini Poncia Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Life and career Early life Poncia was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is of Italian ancestry. The 1960s In the 1960s, Poncia formed a ...
with an executive production by
Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (June 18, 1942 – December 24, 2024) was an American record producer. He began his musical career as a performer while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late ...
. It was released in April 1975 as the first single from Manchester's third studio album, ''
Melissa Melissa is a feminine given name. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite language, Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". Meliss ...
'' (1975). The song was described by ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' magazine as "a classically elegant quiet ballad about a pair of longtime lovers putting aside their current aggravations until the dawn in order to try making it one more time in memory of all their old times together". In the United States, the single became her first top ten entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at number six. Additionally, it peaked at number one on the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart.


Background

The song had been written by Manchester in 1973 as her first collaboration with
Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1944) is an American lyricist, singer, songwriter, and painter. Early life and career Carole Bayer was born in New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She gradu ...
, who would be Manchester's regular lyricist over the next five years; Manchester would recall: "the songs that I wrote with Carole... all came out of conversations. Therefore the tone of the songs was very conversational. The listener always feels like they are in the moment when that first line is uttered." According to Manchester the genesis of "Midnight Blue" was a conversation she and Bayer Sager "had about our young husbands, and how as young women we didn't know how to get through the hard times that every relationship has"; the song was essentially finished but still lacking a title when either Manchester or Bayer Sager said: "Midnight Blue" which Manchester opines "was the perfect fit for the ong'soverall feeling". After meeting Manchester backstage after
Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...
's
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
concert of 23 June 1972 Bayer Sager suggested she and Manchester write a song to cut as a demo, the result being "Midnight Blue". Although Manchester's first two album releases, ''Home to Myself'' and ''Bright Eyes'' in respectively 1973 and 1974, would overall feature eight songs she had co-written with Bayer Sager, Manchester herself would not record "Midnight Blue" until 1975. The demo of "Midnight Blue" was submitted by Sager and Manchester to producer
Vini Poncia Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Life and career Early life Poncia was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is of Italian ancestry. The 1960s In the 1960s, Poncia formed a ...
in hopes of having his purported client
Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...
record the song: instead the demo convinced Poncia to record the singer of the demo who was Manchester herself. Poncia waited for almost two years - allowing Manchester to fulfill her obligations to the producers of her two
Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benn ...
albums — before approaching Manchester with regard to producing her. In the interim Manchester had personally pitched "Midnight Blue" to
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...
according to Springfield's friend Sue Cameron who recalls Manchester visiting Springfield's
Laurel Canyon Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neig ...
home and playing Springfield the demo of "Midnight Blue" - Cameron (quote): "She told Melissa no. Melissa leaves the house. I went: 'Are you crazy?'" An alternate background scenario for Manchester's recording "Midnight Blue" is related by Carole Bayer Sager in her autobiography: according to Bayer Sager she "pretty much stalked"
Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (June 18, 1942 – December 24, 2024) was an American record producer. He began his musical career as a performer while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late ...
to "get him to listen to our song. Finally after I cornered him at an industry party he agreed to listen to hedemo f 'Midnight Blue'" Bayer Sager played the demo for Perry at his Manhattan hotel suite, first telling him: "The girl I wrote the song with is singing here and she wants to record it... and I was hoping if you liked it maybe you'd produce it." Bayer Sager recalls that after hearing the demo Perry told her: "This song could be a big hit. I have a young producer who works for me: Vini Poncia, and I think he could make a really good record with Melissa as the artist. I'd executive produce it." According to Bayer Sager, Perry himself played the completed track of "Midnight Blue" for Arista Records president
Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...
who greenlit Poncia producing Manchester's album ''Melissa'' from which "Midnight Blue" was issued as lead single in May 1975 (the single edit trimmed 29 seconds off the album track's outro). On the original track listing for the album ''Melissa'' the track's title is spelled "Midnite Blue", a spelling which was retained for the track's single release in Australia.


Personnel

*
Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...
- piano, vocals *
Vini Poncia Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Life and career Early life Poncia was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is of Italian ancestry. The 1960s In the 1960s, Poncia formed a ...
- backing vocals * David Wolfert - acoustic guitar, electric guitar * Cooker Lo Presti - bass *
James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, orchestrator and music producer. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...
- electric piano * Kirk Bruner - drums * Trevor Lawrence - strings arrangement


Impact

In 2012 Manchester would recall promoting "Midnight Blue": "I
ad been Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically use ...
an album artist ith no causeto worry about a single. Suddenly, Bell Records was absorbed into Arista Records hose presidentClive Davis...spoke of things like singles success. or'Midnight Blue' we did a really vigorous tour of radio stations and secondary markets" - "I crisscrossed the country to break the song on college radio stations, which were very important at the time. It was right before radio went into automated playlists. Music directors and disc jockeys still had pull. Right after 'Midnight Blue', everything changed" - "We traveled thousands of miles shaking hands and playing: when
he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
finally got from the east coast to the west coast it was so huge...I
ill ILL, or Ill, or ill may refer to: Places * Ill (France), a river in Alsace, France, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Vorarlberg), a river in Vorarlberg, Austria, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Saarland), a river of Saarland, Germany, tributary o ...
never forget that first experience of playing the intro to 'Midnight Blue'
o have O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), p ...
people started cheering....That was the power of radio." "Midnight Blue" debuted at #90 on the
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
in ''Billboard'' magazine dated 10 May 1975: the same issue of ''Billboard'' showed the track ranked at #22 on the magazine's
Easy Listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...
where "Midnight Blue" was in its fourth week on the Easy Listening Top 50. In its sixth week on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Midnight Blue" entered the
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
at #40 on the chart dated 14 June 1975, with the track ranked at #2 on that week's ''Billboard'' Easy Listening chart: "Midnight Blue" would spend the weeks of 21–28 June at #1 on the ''Billboard'' Easy Listening chart - eventually being cited as the #1 Easy Listening hit of the year 1975 - while on the Hot 100 the track would ascend to a peak of #6 (8 August 1975). The first of Manchester's fifteen Hot 100 singles, "Midnight Blue" would be the last song composed by Manchester herself to afford her a Top 20 hit as only the second and third of her seven Top 40 hits were self-penned songs neither of which enjoyed the success level of "Midnight Blue" having respective Hot 100 peaks of #30 ("Just Too Many People") and #27 ("Just You & I"): however Manchester would be returned to the Top Ten twice by "outside material" (see " Don't Cry Out Loud" and "
You Should Hear How She Talks About You "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" is a song that was first recorded by Charlie Dore for her 1981 ''Listen!'' album. "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" was written by Dean Pitchford and Tom Snow. In 1982, Melissa Manchester took ...
"). A snippet from Manchester's recording of "Midnight Blue" was one of twelve current or recent hits whose lyrics were "borrowed" to provide responses to a "roving reporter" on the scene of a shark attack played by
Dickie Goodman Richard Dorian Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989), was an American musician and record producer. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the " break-in", an early precursor to sampling, that used brief clips of popul ...
on his
novelty hit A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...
''
Mr. Jaws "Mr. Jaws" is a novelty song by Dickie Goodman released on Cash Records in 1975. This record is a parody of the 1975 summer blockbuster film '' Jaws'', with Goodman interviewing the shark (whom he calls "Mr. Jaws"), as well as the film's main ch ...
'' which became a Top Ten hit in the autumn of 1975. Manchester's "Midnight Blue" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1978 film ''
Ice Castles ''Ice Castles'' is a 1978 American romantic drama film directed by Donald Wrye and starring Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson. It is the story of Lexie Winston, a young figure skater, and her rise and fall from super stardom. Tragedy strik ...
'' - for which Manchester sang
the theme ''The Theme'' () is a 1979 Soviet comedy film directed by Gleb Panfilov. It tells the story of an egotistical playwright who thinks of himself as an artist, but who allows the system to make him write conformist plays. The film was heavily cens ...
- and also the 2010 film '' Dirty Girl'' in which several of Manchester's songs are heard (Manchester has a cameo in the latter film but not as herself). In October 2020, a re-envisioned version of "Midnight Blue" was released in support of World Singing Day (3rd Sunday in October) The official music video shows Manchester in a new performance of the song, with a backdrop of images of her stage performances of the song over the years.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Other versions

The song has also been recorded by
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
,
Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...
,
Arthur Prysock Arthur Prysock Jr. (January 1, 1924 According to his obituary in ''The New York Times'', "his heavy, deep voice projected a calm, reassuring virility." Life and career Prysock was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Many sources give his birt ...
,
Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...
and
Viola Wills Viola Mae Wilkerson (December 30, 1939 – May 6, 2009), known professionally as Viola Wills, was an American pop and R&B singer, best known for her covers of classics and other standards such as Patience and Prudence's " Gonna Get Along Wit ...
. An Italian rendering, "E L'Amore Che Muore", was recorded by
Wess Wesley Johnson known by his stage name Wess (August 13, 1945 — September 21, 2009) was an American-born Italian singing, singer and bass guitarist, perhaps mostly known for representing Italy along with Dori Ghezzi at the Eurovision Song Conte ...
&
Dori Ghezzi Dori Ghezzi (born 30 March 1946) is an Italian singer who was active as a recording artist between 1966 and 1989. In the 1970s, Ghezzi worked mainly in a duo with American singer Wess, and the couple represented Italy in the 1975 Eurovision Song ...
for their 1975 album ''Terzo Album'' and was issued as a single. In May 1976, it was recorded and released as a single via
LS Records LS Records is an American record label. It was founded by Lee Stoller in 1975. The label is best known for distributing the works of country singer Cristy Lane, who is Stoller's wife. History In the mid 1970s, Lee Stoller chose to sign country mu ...
by
Cristy Lane Cristy Lane (born Eleanor Johnston; January 8, 1940) is an American Christian and country music singer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had a series of hits on the North American country charts with songs like " Let Me Down Easy", " I Just ...
. In 1985, a
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
was later made for the song.


See also

*
List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1975 (U.S.) In 1975, ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine published a record chart, chart ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the easy listening market. The chart, which in 1975 was entitled Easy Listening, has undergone vario ...


References


External links

* {{authority control 1975 songs Melissa Manchester songs Cristy Lane songs Songs written by Melissa Manchester Songs written by Carole Bayer Sager 1975 singles Arista Records singles LS Records singles 1970s ballads