Simon was born in Simmesport, Louisiana, United States. Similar to many other African-American artists from the era, Simon began singing in his father's Baptist church. He pursued his vocal abilities full-time once the family moved to Richmond (near Oakland, California) in the late 1950s. There Simon joined the Golden West Gospel Singers and became influenced by Sam Cooke and Arthur Prysock. With this, the group decided to turn secular and recorded "Little Island Girl" as the Golden Tones in 1959.
Hush Records label owners Gary and Carla Thompson urged Simon to record on his own, and in 1964 Simon scored considerable success on the Vee-Jay label with "My Adorable One". Simon scored again in 1965 on the Chicago based label with "Let's Do It Over", which landed a #13 spot on the US Billboard R&B chart. However, the Vee-Jay label folded soon after the latter song's release and Simon found himself traveling across the country singing.
Simon caught the eye of Nashville, Tennessee, R&B disc jockey John Richbourg during this time, and Richbourg not only became Simon's manager/record producer but also brought the singer to Monument Records' subsidiary label Sound Stage 7 in 1966. That year Simon released "Teenager's Prayer", which peaked at #11 on Billboard's R&B chart. Within the next two years, Simon released a string of hits: "(You Keep Me) Hanging On", "The Chokin' Kind" (Billboard Hot 100 #13), "Farther On Down The Road", and "Yours Love". "The Chokin' Kind" was written by Harlan Howard, spent 12 weeks in the charts, and had sold one million copies by 16 June 1969. In addition, Simon was given a Grammy Award in 1970 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
Under the encouragement of Richbourg, Simon moved to the Polydor distributed Spring Records label in 1970, which paired Simon with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The team scored a #3 R&B hit in 1971 with "Drowning In The Sea of Love" and a #1 R&B hit in the summer of 1972 with "Power Of Love". Both songs reached #11 on the Hot 100. "Drowning In The Sea of Love" sold over 1.5 million copies and the R.I.A.A. on 6 January 1972 gave a gold disc. "Power of Love", written by Gamble, Huff and Simon was Simon's third million seller, and the R.I.A.A. awarded gold disc status on 29 August 1972.
Simon continued to release R&B hits with "Pool Of Bad Luck", "Trouble In My Home", "Step By Step", "I Need You, You Need Me", "Music In My Bones", "Carry Me", and 1975's "Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor)", which gave Simon his third #1 R&B hit, and also a #8 Hot 100 hit. Simon's success escalated with his writing/producing the theme tune for the film, Cleopatra Jones in 1973.
In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Simon decided to remove his tenor/bass-baritone voice from the secular music world and devote it and his life to Christianity. Simon began evangelist preaching in Flossmoor, Illinois. In 1983, he produced the album Lay My Burden Down for former Davis Sisters second lead Jackie Verdell. Simon released a gospel album titled This Story Must Be Told in the late 1990s.
In 1999 Simon was inducted as a Pioneer Award honoree by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Joss Stone covered "The Chokin' Kind" on her 2003 album, The Soul Sessions.
Simon has had a number of his songs sampled by other artists, including OutKast, who sampled "Before the Night is Over" in their hit "So Fresh, So Clean" and Lil' Kim, who sampled Simon's "It Be's That Way Sometimes" in "Magic Stick", featuring 50 Cent. Memphis Bleek sampled Simon's "Trace Your Love" for his track "Alright" on the 2005 534 album.
Misty Blue
Joe Simon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looks like I'd get you off my mind
Oh but I can't for just the thought of you
Turns my whole world a misty blue
Just the mention of your name
Turns the flicker to a flame
I think of things that we used to do
Then my whole world turns misty blue
Heaven knows I've tried
But when I say I'm glad we're through
My heart knows that I lie
It's been such a long long time
Just the very thought of you
Turns my whole world a misty blue
Joe Simon's "Misty Blue" is a powerful ballad about a relationship that has come to an end, but the memories of the past still linger. The lyrics speak of how despite the time that has passed, the singer is still unable to forget the person they have lost. The opening lines, "Oh it's been such a long long time/Looks like I'd get you off my mind" set the tone for the song as the singer acknowledges that he has been trying to move on, but unfortunately for him, the memories of his past love interest are still too strong.
The idea that just the mere thought of the person's name "turns the flicker to a flame" is a powerful image of how deep the singer's feelings still run. The memories come flooding back, and he finds himself thinking about all the things they used to do. The line "Then my whole world turns misty blue," captures the bittersweet feelings of nostalgia and sadness that come with longing for someone you can no longer have. The singer acknowledges that he should forget the person, but despite his best efforts, he can't seem to let go.
The chorus repeats the notion that time has passed, but the memories still remain. The singer lies to himself and says that he is glad it's over, but in his heart, he knows the truth. The line "Just the very thought of you/Turns my whole world a misty blue" is a heartbreaking image of how powerful lost love can be, and how it can haunt someone even after they have moved on.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh it's been such a long long time
It has been a significant amount of time since we were last together.
Looks like I'd get you off my mind
It seems like I should have been able to stop thinking about you by now.
Oh but I can't for just the thought of you
However, I can't forget about you, even just the thought of you consumes me.
Turns my whole world a misty blue
The mere thought of you causes me to become consumed by feelings of sadness and longing.
Just the mention of your name
Even saying your name aloud has a profound impact on me.
Turns the flicker to a flame
It reignites any flicker of hope I may have had that we could be together again.
I think of things that we used to do
Memories of the things we shared together still run through my mind.
Then my whole world turns misty blue
And like a wave, these memories and emotions wash over me, rendering me consumed and helpless.
I should forget you
I know that I should be able to move on from you.
Heaven knows I've tried
I have done my utmost to forget about you.
But when I say I'm glad we're through
However, even if I do say that, it is not truly how I feel.
My heart knows that I lie
My heart is still bound to you and is unconvinced by my words.
Just the very thought of you
Even the slightest idea of your being is enough to set me off.
Turns my whole world a misty blue
I am still haunted by my love for you, despite all that has happened and all I have tried to do to change that.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bob Montgomery
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sbofficial9205
Oh it's been such a long long time
Looks like I'd get you off my mind
Oh but I can't for just the thought of you
Turns my whole world a misty blue
Just the mention of your name
Turns the flicker to a flame
I think of things that we used to do
Then my whole world turns misty blue
I should forget you
Heaven knows I've tried
But when I say I'm glad we're through
My heart knows that I lie
It's been such a long long time
Just the very thought of you
Turns my whole world a misty blue
@24pepperdog1
Somehow I never get tired of listening to Joe Simon's version of this song.
@jamesj6506
Joe was the first one who breathed some soul into this country tune.
@hanknell
My father use to play this song sadly over and over again. He lost my mom when I was six years old! The Dorothy Moore version can't hold a candle to Joe Simon's version!
@ReturnJaguar
Yep, nor maryj
@alphagreene1112
Joe Simon sings this song so beautifully.
@rosadillardhatten5416
Love this song by Joe Simon!!
Rip...Joe
@jaysmith2414
This is also my favorite Joe Simon Song, great job Joe,RIP
@sfcmcgee5205
Heart broken but not shedding tears of sadness because Higher Power has someone better more deserving. One decides to grow apart. The other Heart still lite like a flame that won't burn out. Blessings Everybody!
@gemini527ish
I am a young girl but I like the way this man sings. We need more songs like this today than the music they have now.
@Shannonbarnesdr1
yeah these new artists need to loose the auto-tune, and sing, and get their instrumentation less electronic and plastic sounding, we need deep quality, real talent to come back.