The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: I Left My Heart In San Francisco

The song of the day for Thursday, August 3, 2023, is “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.”

About Today

Tony Bennett would have reached his 97th birthday on August 3, 2023. In addition to Mr. Bennett’s birthday, George Cory (composer of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”) was born on August 3, 1920.

I can think of no better song of the day than “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” for today.

About This Song

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco” was written in 1953 by George Cory and Douglass Cross. The two songwriters had given Ralph Sharon, Bennett’s musical director, a copy of their song, which he put in a drawer and mostly forgot about. In 1961, Sharon was packing for a road trip with Bennett, which would end at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, and thought the song might be a nice song for the locals in the city by the bay. Well, it was well-received in San Francisco and went on to be Tony Bennett’s biggest hit and won two Grammy Awards (Album of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male).

In 2018, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant”.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” in 1962 and it remained his only studio recording of the song. In 2006, he felt it was time for another studio recording. He enlisted Bill Charlap and recorded it again on his 2006 album Duets: An American Classic.

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” as well as Duets: An American Classic is available on Apple Music.

I have several videos for today. First up is from Bill Charlap, who was interviewed by Kaitlan Collins on CNN immediately following his death on July 21, 2023:

Bill Charlap also recorded this piano solo in memory of Tony Bennett:

Tony Bennett | In loving memory of an icon of popular song, a singular artist, and my friend. Tony Bennett is a part of every note that I play for the rest of my life. | By Bill Charlap | Facebook

In loving memory of an icon of popular song, a singular artist, and my friend. Tony Bennett is a part of every note that I play for the rest of my life.

In 1963, Tony Bennett appeared on the Judy Garland Show and sang what many, including me, consider his best recording of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”

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Song of the Day: I Left My Heart In San Francisco

The song of the day for Saturday; June 11, 2023, is “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett is proud to remember Judy Garland, who was born on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Her body of work, both in film and as a performer, was astounding. Today’s post has footage of Tony and Judy, when he appeared on The Judy Garland Show on July 30, 1963.

About This Song

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco” was written in 1953 by George Cory and Douglass Cross. The 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.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” on January 23, 1962, with an arrangement by Marty Manning. It was originally released as a single — on the B-side of “Once Upon a Time.” Later that year, the album I Left My Heart In San Francisco was released, with the song as the first cut on side one of the LP.

I Left My Heart In San Francisco won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male.

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” as well as the album I Left My Heart In San Francisco is available on Apple Music.

Tony Bennett and Judy Garland had been friends for many years and Tony was happy to appear on her television program, The Judy Garland Show and to sing today’s song.

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Song of the Day: I Left My Heart in San Francisco

The song of the day for Thursday, May 4, 2023, is “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

About Today

Today we remember Douglass Cross, who wrote the lyrics for “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” Cross was born on May 4, 1920, and died on January 7, 1975. He and his partner, George Cory, were from San Francisco and had moved to New York to better their chances as songwriters.

About This Song

“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was written in 1953 by Douglass Cross and George Cory.

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 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.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap made the first studio recording of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” since the original 1962 single that hit the world by storm. The recording was included on the 2006 album Duets: An American Classic.

“I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” as well as Duets: An American Classic is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: I Left My Heart In San Francisco

The song of the day for Sunday, March 12, 2023, 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 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.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” live on September 15, 2016, at a concert at Radio City Music Hall celebrating his 90th birthday. The songs from that concert were released in 2016 on Tony Bennett Celebrates 90.

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” as well as Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 is available on Apple Music.

We are very happy to present the video from Tony Bennett Celebrates 90:

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Song of the Day: I Left My Heart In San Francisco

The song of the day for Sunday, January 23, 2022, 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 Douglas Cross, two homesick songwriters from San Francisco.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” 60 years ago today, on January 23, 1962.

This song is, of course, Tony Bennett’s signature song. It actually became that 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 (where a young high school saxophone player named Bill Clinton hung outside the auditorium to hear the concert), 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. The recording was released on an album I Left My Heart In San Francisco, put out quickly for lovers of the song.

The recording won Tony Bennet his first (of many) Grammy Award.

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” as well as the album I Left My Heart In San Francisco, is available on Apple Music.

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