''I Left My Heart in San Francisco'' is an album by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

, released in 1962 on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

. It peaked at #5 on the Billboard pop albums chart, and has been certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. Originally available as Columbia rekey CL 1869 (mono) and CS 8669 (stereo), it is one of the best-selling albums of Bennett's career. Tony Bennett won two 1962 Grammy Awards for the title song: Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male.

Content

In February 1962, the song " I Left My Heart in San Francisco" was released by Columbia as the

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to " Once Upon a Time", but became a chart hit in its own right. Columbia assembled the album around the single, including material that had been previously released on singles and unused items from earlier sessions. Previously released songs included "

The Best Is Yet to Come "The Best Is Yet to Come" is a 1959 song composed by Cy Coleman to lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It is associated with Frank Sinatra, who recorded it on his 1964 album '' It Might as Well Be Swing'' accompanied by Count Basie under the direction of ...

", which had been introduced by Bennett and released as Columbia single 41965 in February 1961, with "Marry Young" on the flipside. Both songs were by the team of

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

and

Carolyn Leigh Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". With ...

, their "Rules of the Road" the b-side to Columbia 42135 "Close Your Eyes" released August 11, 1961. Another single, " Candy Kisses" recorded in March 1961 with "Have I Told You Lately?" from ''

I Can Get It for You Wholesale ''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' is a musical, produced by David Merrick, music and lyrics by Harold Rome, and book by Jerome Weidman, based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, ...

'' recorded at the same January 23, 1962 sessions that yielded the title song, were Columbia 42395 on March 30, 1962.''I Left My Heart in San Francisco.'' 2006 reissue,

Legacy Records In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

82876 84782 2,

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

. "Tender Is the Night", later used in the 1962 film, had been Columbia 42219, released October 27, 1961, while Charlie Chaplin's "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

" from '' Modern Times'' peaked at #73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as Columbia 41434, released July 6, 1959. None of the other singles, with the exception of "San Francisco", had charted. The additional three tracks were taken from sessions spanning 1957 to 1960. "

Taking a Chance on Love "Taking a Chance on Love" is a popular song from the 1940 Broadway musical '' Cabin in the Sky''. It was introduced by Ethel Waters playing the role of Petunia Jackson both on Broadway and later in the 1943 MGM musical Cabin in the Sky (film). ...

" derived from the musical '' Cabin in the Sky'', " Love for Sale" from '' The New Yorkers'', and " I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" from ''Oh, Look!''. Bennett's rescue of "Once Upon a Time" from ''All American'' gave him "San Francisco" instead, his

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

Track listing

Side one

Side two

Personnel

—

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Ralph Sharon —

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

;

arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

on "Love for Sale" * The

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 19 ...

— instruments and arrangements on "Taking A Chance on Love" *

Marty Manning Martin Manning (April 26, 1916 – November 22, 1971) was a Grammy-winning American arranger and conductor of popular music, most noted for his work at Columbia Records in the 1950s and early 1960s when he was "one of the most in-demand arran ...

— arrangements on "San Francisco," "Once Upon A Time," "Tender is the Night," "Candy Kisses," and "Have I Told You Lately?" *

— arrangements on "Marry Young" and "The Best Is Yet to Come" *

Ralph Burns Ralph Joseph P. Burns (June 29, 1922 – November 21, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Burns was born in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, where he began playing the piano as a child. In 1938, he atten ...

— arrangements on "Smile" and "Rules of the Road" *

Frank De Vol Frank Denny De Vol (September 20, 1911 – October 27, 1999) was an American actor, and using the name De Vol was an arranger and composer. As a composer he was nominated for four Academy Awards. Early life and career De Vol was born in Mounds ...

— arrangements on "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" *

Candido Camero Candido is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Candido Amantini (1914–1992), Italian Roman Catholic priest * Candido Camero known simply as "Candido" (1921-2020), Cuban percussionist * Candido J ...

, Sabu Martinez, and Billy Exiner — percussion on "Love for Sale"

References

{{Authority control 1962 albums Tony Bennett albums Columbia Records albums Albums arranged by Frank De Vol Albums produced by Mitch Miller Albums produced by Al Ham Albums recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio Albums arranged by Ralph Sharon Albums arranged by Cy Coleman Albums arranged by Ralph Burns