"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 ''It Might as Well Be Swing'' is a 1964 studio album by Frank Sinatra, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra. It was Sinatra's first studio recording arranged by Quincy Jones. The recording of " Fly Me to the Moon" which appears on thi ...

'' accompanied by

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

under the direction of

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. It was the last song Sinatra sang in public, on February 25, 1995, and the words "The Best is Yet to Come" are etched on Sinatra's tombstone. Although Sinatra made it popular, the song was written for and introduced 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 ...

. Before it was recorded by Sinatra, the song's debut was sung and played by Cy Coleman on Hugh Hefner's ''

Playboy's Penthouse ''Playboy's Penthouse'' is an American variety/talk television show hosted by ''Playboy'' founder and then-editor/publisher Hugh Hefner. It was first broadcast on October 24, 1959 and ran in broadcast syndication, syndication for two seasons. D ...

'' variety show.

Notable recordings

(''

I Left My Heart in San Francisco "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" is a popular song, written in the fall of 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, with music by George Cory (1920–1978) and lyrics by Douglass Cross and best known as the signature song of Tony Bennett. In 1962, the ...

'') (1962) *Tony Bennett and

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard'' maga ...

('' Duets: An American Classic'') (2006) *Tony Bennett and Diana Krall in ''Tony Bennett: An American Classic''. Documentary directed by

Rob Marshall Robert Doyle Marshall Jr.http://www.alumni.cmu.edu/s/1410/images/editor_documents/alumnirelations/getinvolved/alumniawards/all_honorees_2018june1.pdf (born October 17, 1960) is an American film and theater director, producer, and choreographer. ...

(2006) *

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

('' Call Me Irresponsible'') (2007) *

James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...

(''

This One's from the Heart ''This One's from the Heart'' is a collection of songs which James Darren sang on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' as the hologram Vic Fontaine. One song he performed on the show was "The Alamo," which was written specially for the show by Jay Cha ...

'') (1999) *

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City o ...

('' May I Come In?'') (1964) *

Matt Dusk Matthew-Aaron Dusk (born November 19, 1978) is a Canadian jazz vocalist. He has four certified gold albums: ''Two Shots'', ''Good News (Matt Dusk album), Good News'', ''Old School Yule!'' and ''JetSetJazz'', and two certified platinum albums; '' ...

('' Back in Town'') (2006) *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

('' Triplicate'') (2017) *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

('' The Best Is Yet to Come'') (1982) * Stacey Kent ('' The Boy Next Door'') (2003) * Chaka Khan ('' ClassiKhan'') (2004) * Peggy Lee ('' Sugar 'N' Spice'') (1962) *

Diane Schuur Diane Joan Schuur (born December 10, 1953), nicknamed "Deedles", is an American jazz singer and pianist. As of 2015, Schuur had released 23 albums, and had extended her jazz repertoire to include essences of Latin, gospel, pop and country music ...

(''In Tribute'') (1992) * Frank Sinatra (''

It Might As Well Be Swing ''It Might as Well Be Swing'' is a 1964 studio album by Frank Sinatra, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra. It was Sinatra's first studio recording arranged by Quincy Jones. The recording of " Fly Me to the Moon" which appears on thi ...

'') (1964) *

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

('' Swing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'') (1999) * Nancy Wilson ('' Yesterday's Love Songs/Today's Blues'') (1963) * Sarah Vaughan (''

You're Mine You ''You're Mine You'' is a 1962 studio album by the American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, orchestrated and conducted by Quincy Jones. Reception The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album three stars and said that "Vaughan's voice is typi ...

'') (1962)

In popular culture

*In February 1999, James Darren and

Avery Brooks Avery Franklin Brooks (born October 2, 1948) is an American actor, director, singer, narrator and educator. He is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', as Hawk on '' Spenser: For Hire'' ...

sang the song in the final scene of "

Badda-Bing Badda-Bang "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang" is the 165th episode of the first-run syndication, syndicated American science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the 15th episode of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (se ...

", a seventh-season episode of the syndicated science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. *The song was played as a wake-up call for the crew of

Apollo 10 Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...

on May 22, 1969. The historic day marked the first time that the Lunar Module flew solo in lunar orbit as it made man's closest approach to the lunar surface to date.

References

1959 songs 1960s jazz standards Frank Sinatra songs Lisa Stansfield songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Songs with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh Songs with music by Cy Coleman Tony Bennett songs {{1950s-jazz-composition-stub