Midnight Blue – Melissa Manchester | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#6) and Adult Contemporary (#1); 1975
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Although Melissa Manchester released her first album at the height of the singer/ songwriter movement, her style owed more to the traditional club female songstresses than the confessional singers of the day.
Like her sometime co-writer Carole Bayer Sager, Melissa attended Manhattan’s High School of Music and Art where she took a songwriting class taught by Paul Simon.
Her masterful piano-and voice club performances caught the ear of Bette Midler, who hired Melissa on as one her back-up singing Harlettes and used her talents on 1972’s The Divine Miss M. Melissa’s debut, Home To Myself, appeared the next year, followed by Bright Eyes and Melissa.
The latter was a more commercial affair prompted, in part, by the influence of her label’s new owner, starmaker Clive Davis.
Midnight Blue – written by Manchester and Sager – showcased the sophisticated, sexy style that made her one of the decade’s top performers.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Melissa Manchester
- Carole Bayer Sager
Lyrics Written by:
- Vini Poncia
- Richard Perry (exec.)
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).