"Misty Memories" is a song written by

Ben Peters Benjamin James Peters (June 20, 1933 – May 25, 2005) was an American country music songwriter who wrote many #1 songs. Charley Pride recorded 68 of his songs and 6 of them went to #1 on the American country charts. Peters was inducted into the N ...

that was originally recorded by American singer,

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in December 1971, reaching the US country top 40 and the Canadian country top ten in 1972. It was given a positive response by magazines from the era.

Background, recording and content

During the early 1960s, Brenda Lee was among music's best-selling recording artists with top ten singles like " I'm Sorry", " I Want to Be Wanted" and "

All Alone Am I "All Alone Am I" is a song from 1962 popularized by the American singer Brenda Lee. The song was originally composed by the Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis and recorded in Greek by Tzeni Karezi for the soundtrack of the film ''To nisi ton genneon ...

". These recordings were produced by

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sou ...

but as the decade progressed, Lee was encouraged to try new record producers and musical directions. Lee grew frustrated with the lack of success she had with new collaborators and was given permission by her record company to work with Bradley again in the early 1970s. Among their first songs they worked on together was 1971's "Misty Memories". Composed by Ben Peters, "Misty Memories" was described as a ballad. Although Bradley produced the track, he was not given credit on the single's release.

Release, critical reception and chart performance

"Misty Memories" was released as a single by Decca Records in December 1971. It was issued as a seven-inch vinyl record featuring the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, "I'm a Memory" (penned by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

). The track was given positive reviews from music publications of the era. ''

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 ...

'' named it among its "Special Merit Picks" in January 1972 and predicted it to make their Country Top 20 chart. They also compared the song to that of selections by

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

. ''

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'' named it among its "Picks of the Week" in January 1972, writing, "This slow and moving ballad shows that she has mastered the feeling well and should get considerable response from stations and listeners." "Misty Memories" debuted on the US

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart on January 29, 1972. It spent a total of 12 weeks on the survey and rose to the number 37 position on March 25. It became Lee's fourth US country chart entry and third top 40 placement. On Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country Tracks chart, the single climbed into the top ten, peaking at number ten during the same time frame. It was Lee's second entry on the Canadian country survey and first top ten peak there.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "Misty Memories" – 2:46 * "I'm a Memory" – 2:53

Charts

References

{{Brenda Lee 1971 songs 1971 singles Brenda Lee songs Decca Records singles Songs written by Ben Peters