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

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, released in 1962 on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The album debuted on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart in the issue dated October 13, 1962, and remained on the album chart for 149 weeks, peaking at number five. it also debuted on the '' Cashbox'' albums chart in the issue dated July 14, 1962, and remained on the chart for in a total of 184 weeks, peaking at number three. It entered the UK album chart on May 29, 1965, reaching number 13 over the course of 14 weeks. and has been certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

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/o ...

. Type ''Tony Bennett'' in the Search box and press ''Enter''. 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. The album was released on compact disc by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1995 as tracks 1 through 12 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 13 through 24 consisting of Bennett's 1963 album, '' I Wanna Be Around...'' On November 8, 2011, Sony Music Distribution included the CD in a box set entitled ''The Complete Collection''.

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 record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to "

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

", 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, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...

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". W ...

, 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'' 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 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 cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

. "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 d ...

" 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" derived from the musical '' Cabin in the Sky'', " Love for Sale" from ''

The New Yorkers ''The New Yorkers'' is a musical with score by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields that satirizes New York City types during Prohibition, from high society matrons to con men, bootleggers, thieves, and prostitutes. The musical premiered on ...

'', 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 , "to sign") is a 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. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

Reception

William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said the album showed "they found the key, not only by happening across a signature song in the title track, but also in the approach to songs like "Once Upon a Time," a gem from the flop musical All American, and Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh's "The Best Is Yet to Come," which Bennett helped make a standard. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the album as "one of Bennett's most salable albums, noted "it's teamed with a flock of outstanding tunes, both from Broadway as well as non-show sources. '' Cashbox'' described the album as "a powerful LP" and notes "Bennett is in the top voice as he reads from Broadway catalog and from a variety-spiced set of lyrical tunes". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' notes "Bennett reprises such others of his previous single outings as "Once Upon A Time", "Tender is The Night", "Have I Told You Lately" and "Smile" with a vocal punch that embarked for top programming play." Nigel Hunter of '' Disc'' stated the set "contains superb songs, ranging between softly sentimental ballads like the title track and smoothly controlled swingers." ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' praised Bennett "for his superb handling of the title song."

Track listing

Side one

Side two

Charts

Singles

Certifications

Personnel

—

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Ralph Sharon —

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

;

arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing Composition (music), composition. Differences from the original composition may include Harmony (music), reharmonization, Musical phrasing, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or M ...

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 — 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 attend ...

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

Frank De Vol Frank Denny De Vol (September 20, 1911 – October 27, 1999) was an American bandleader, arranger, composer and actor. As a composer, he was nominated for four Academy Awards. Early life De Vol was born in Moundsville in Marshall County in no ...

— 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 ...

, 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 arranged by Ralph Sharon Albums arranged by Cy Coleman Albums arranged by Ralph Burns Albums recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio