| "Once Upon A Time" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Tony Bennett | ||||
| B-side | "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" | |||
| Released | February 2, 1962 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | January 23, 1962 | |||
| Genre | Classic pop | |||
| Length | 2:52 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Writer(s) | George Cory, Douglass Cross | |||
| Producer | Ernie Altschuler | |||
| Tony Bennett singles chronology | ||||
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| "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" | |
| Published | General Music Publishing Company, 1954 |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Recorded by | Tony Bennett (1962)
Frank Sinatra (1962) Perry Como (1963) Blossom Dearie (1963) Duke Ellington (1963) Joni James (1963) Peggy Lee (1963) Julie London (1963) Andy Williams (1963) Sammy Davis, Jr. (1964) Nancy Wilson (1964) Fats Domino (1965) Duke Ellington (1965) Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (1967) Bobby Womack (1969) Rosemary Clooney (1995) Jack Jones (1998) Westlife (2004) William Hung (2005) Mayer Hawthorne (2010) |
| Performed by | Jimmy Roberts |
"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" is a popular song, written in 1954 by George Cory and Douglass Cross, and best known as the signature song of Tony Bennett. It was released as a single by Bennett on Columbia Records, catalogue 4-42332, as the b-side to "Once Upon A Time." It peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later issued on the album of the same name.
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The music was written by Cory, with lyrics by Cross, about two amateur writers nostalgic for San Francisco after moving to New York.[1] Although the song was originally written for Claramae Turner, who often used it as an encore, she never got around to recording it. The song found its way to Tony Bennett through Ralph Sharon, Bennett's longtime accompanist and friends with the composers. It was Sharon who brought the music along when he and Bennett were on tour and on their way to San Francisco.[1]
In December 1961 at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel in the famous Venetian Room, Tony Bennett first sang 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco.' In the audience that night were San Francisco mayor George Christopher and future mayor, Joseph L. Alioto. From the 1960s through the 1980s at San Francisco's premier supper club the Venetian Room, Bennett sang the city song.
Bennett first recorded the song at CBS Studios on 30th Street on January 23, 1962; CBS released it as the b-side of "Once Upon A Time."[1] The A-side received no attention, and DJs began flipping the record over and playing "San Francisco."[2] It became a hit on the pop singles chart in 1962 and spent close to a year on various other charts, achieving gold record status. It then won the top prize of Grammy Award for Record of the Year, as well as for Best Male Solo Vocal Performance. In 2001 it was ranked 23rd on an RIAA/NEA list of the most historically significant Songs of the 20th Century.
It has often been performed in public by Bennett in concert as well as on special occasions, most notably in the final National Football League game at Kezar Stadium featuring the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970 NFC Championship Game, at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Golden Gate Bridge in May, 1987, game three of the 2002 World Series featuring the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in San Francisco, again at game one of the 2010 World Series featuring the Giants and the Texas Rangers, and at the reopening of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge after sections of the bridge were damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Bennett's recording is also played over the public address system at AT&T Park after all San Francisco Giants home game victories.
Bennett has said of the song,
That song helped make me a world citizen. It allowed me to live, work and sing in any city on the globe. It changed my whole life.[1]
In his concerts in the 2000s, Bennett typically performs the song mid-way through his set, after which the house lights are turned up while the audience engages in extended applause. When that finally subsides, the house lights go down and the show resumes. On November 8, 2006, Bennett performed "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He stated that his first performance of that song was also on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson when the song was first released in 1962, on Johnny Carson's first night on the show. The Songwriters Hall of Fame gave Bennett the Towering Performance Award for his vocal rendition of the song[3].
The song has been recorded by myriad artists, including Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, and others, with the version by rhythm and blues singer Bobby Womack making the chart for Minit Records, peaking at #48 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in 1969. In that same year, the song was adopted by the City and County of San Francisco as one of its two official anthems, the other being the title song from the 1936 film San Francisco.[1] Sergio Franchi recorded an Italian-language version on his 1965 concert album for RCA Victor, Live at the Coconut Grove.[4]