The song of the day for Tuesday, December 30, 2025, is “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
About This Song
“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was written in 1953 by George Cory and Douglass Cross. This song is, of course, Tony Bennett’s signature song. It actually became that quite by accident. As Bennett’s musical director, songwriters were constantly giving Ralph Sharon copies of their songs. Cross and Cory had done that and Sharon had stuck the song in a drawer and forgotten all about it. In 1961, he and Bennett were heading out on tour, which included a stop in San Francisco at The Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. Sharon came across the music and thought it might be a nice local number for the San Francisco audience. After a performance in Hot Springs, Arkansas, they found a piano and started to work on the song a bit. An early fan was the bartender, who said that he’d buy the first copy if they ever decided to record it. Of course, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco “was a huge hit at the performance and in January 1962, Bennett recorded it and released it on a 45 RPM record on the B-side to “Once Upon a Time.” But gradually, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” started getting all the airplay and it became a major hit for Bennett, winning him his first Grammy Award. It is his signature song and is beloved by all of his fans.
Regarding the show in Hot Springs, Arkansas: A young high school saxophone player couldn’t afford to see the show and hung out by the windows in the venue to listen. His name was Bill Clinton.
About This Version
Tony Bennett, with Bill Charlap on solo piano, recorded this version of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in 2006 for Duets: An American Classic. Bennett made just two studio recordings of the song: the first with Ralph Sharon in 1962 and this one with Charlap in 2006.
“I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” as well as Duets: An American Classic, is available on Apple Music.
On July 30, 1963, Tony Bennett taped an episode on The Judy Garland Show and sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
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