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 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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Album of the Week: The Beat of My Heart

The album of the week starting on January 16, 2022, is The Beat of My Heart.

The Beat of My Heart was conceived and planned by Tony Bennett and his new musical director, Ralph Sharon. Bennett wanted to return to his jazz roots with this, his third LP. Bennett relates stories about this album in his autobiography, The Good Life:

Ralph and I wanted to make a jazz statement in a big way, and I came up with the idea of recording an album of standards that put the spotlight on different kinds of rhythm by using all the great jazz drummers I could find. We talked the concept over during our first few months on the road, and gradually it all came together. The first recording date was in June 1957, with Chico Hamilton. I was delighted with the results, particularly with the tongue-twisting. super-percussive title track, “The Beat of My Heart.” Mitch came to the first recording date, but was unusually quiet. Maybe he hoped he was giving us enough rope to hang ourselves. But when the album came out, an army of jazz fans said, Hey, this guy knows how to swing. A whole new audience accepted me—in fact, I still get my biggest reactions at jazz festivals the world over.

Album Facts

Release Date December 1, 1957
Label Columbia (CL-1079)
Producers Mitch Miller, Al Ham
Vocals Tony Bennett
Arrangements Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett
Piano Ralph Sharon
Percussion Art Blakey, Chico Hamilton, Jo Jones, Candido Camero, Sabu Martinez, Billy Exiner
Tenor Sax Al Cohn
Trumpet Nat Adderly
Trombone Robert Alexander, Jim Dahl, Kai Winding
Flute Herbie Mann, Spencer Sinatra, William Slapin
Vibes Eddie Costa
Guitar John Pisano
Bass Milt Hinton, Eddie Saranski, James Bond

Listen to The Beat of My Heart

You can also listen to The Beat of My Heart on:

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Song of the Day: Nobody’s Heart Belongs To Me

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 5, 2021, is “Nobody’s Heart Belongs To Me.”

About This Song

“Nobody’s Heart Belongs To Me” was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for the musical By Jupiter in 1942. Directed by Joshua Logan, it starred Ray Bolger, Vera-Ellen, and Constance Moore. It was their last full-length work. In American Popular Music, Alec Wilder called this song “one of the loveliest songs Rodgers or any other theater writer has ever written. In the area of this form of music, it is a masterpiece.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Nobody’s Heart Belongs To Me” on October 28, 1959, and released in 1961 on the album Tony Sings For Two. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon.

“Nobody’s Heart Belongs To Me,” as well as Tony Sings For Two is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: The Rules of the Road

The song of the day for Wednesday, December 29, 2021, is “The Rules of the Road.”

About This Song

“The Rules of the Road” was written in 1961 by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. In addition to several recordings by Tony Bennett, the song has also been recorded by Lena Horne, Shirley Horne, Nat King Cole, and Rosemary Clooney.

About This Version

Today we’re featuring Bennett’s second studio recording of “The Rules of the Road,” recorded in 1964 with The Ralph Sharon Trio for the album When Lights Are Low. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

“The Rules of the Road,” as well as When Lights Are Low is available on Apple Music.https://music.apple.com/us/album/when-lights-are-low-remastered/576713269

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Song of the Day: Bewitched

The song of the day for Tuesday, December 28, 2021, is “Bewitched .”

About This Song

“Bewitched” (more commonly called by its full name “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”) was written by Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart for the 940 musical Pal Joey, where it was introduced by Vivienne Segal. Notable recordings are by Benny Goodman, Mel Tormé, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder admired the lyric and the verse, but found the song “notey.” In spite of being notey, it’s a cornerstone of the American Songbook.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Bewitched” on October 28, 1961, with just Ralph Sharon on piano. They booked the studio and recorded 16 songs in one afternoon, in one or takes for each song. Bennett relates in his autobiography The Good Life:

I always wanted to be unpredictable, and so for my next project, I decided to go in the opposite direction from the big orchestral albums I’d been doing lately and cut an intimate piano-vocal album with Ralph Sharon. We booked time in the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or two takes. In one afternoon we laid down sixteen tunes—which must be some kind of record—twelve of which made it onto the album, which became 1961’s Tony Sings for Two, Mitch Miller showed up at the start of these sessions, furious that I was really going through with it. When he saw that there was no dissuading me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings for Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

Tony Sings For Two was not released until 1961. It’s one of Bennett’s finest albums.

“Bewitched ,” as well as Tony Sings For Two is available on Apple Music.