I Left My Heart in San Francisco (album)

Last updated
I Left My Heart in San Francisco
ILeftMyHeartInSanFranciscoLP.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 18, 1962 [1]
RecordedOctober 1957–January 1962
Studio CBS 30th Street (New York City)
Genre Classic pop
Length32:20
Label Columbia
CL 1869
CS 8669
Producer Ernie Altschuler
Tony Bennett chronology
Mr. Broadway: Tony's Greatest Broadway Hits
(1962)
I Left My Heart in San Francisco
(1962)
Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall
(1962)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

I Left My Heart in San Francisco is an album by American singer Tony Bennett, released in 1962 on Columbia Records. The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated October 13, of that year, and remained on the album chart for 149 weeks, peaking at No. 5 [5] and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. Originally available as Columbia rekey CL 1869 (mono) and CS 8669 (stereo), it is one of the best-selling albums of Bennett's career.

Contents

Tony Bennett won two 1962 Grammy Awards for the title song: Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male.

Sony Music Distribution included this CD in a box set entitled The Complete Collection, which contains fifty-eight of his studio albums, 4 compilation, three DVDs, six volumes of Bennett’s non-album singles, a previously unreleased CD of his Las Vegas debut from 1964, and two discs of rarities, including Bennett’s first recording, an Army V-Disc of “St. James Infirmary Blues, and was released on November 8, 2011. [6]

Content

In February 1962, the song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" was released by Columbia as the B-side to "Once Upon a Time", but became a chart hit in its own right. [7] 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", 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 and Carolyn Leigh, their "Rules of the Road" the b-side to Columbia 42135 "Close Your Eyes" released August 11, 1961. [8] 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. [9] "Tender Is the Night", later used in the 1962 film, had been Columbia 42219, released October 27, 1961, while Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" 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 , 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.

Track listing

Side one

Side two

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Candy Kisses" George Morgan 2:25
2."Have I Told You Lately?" Harold Rome 2:39
3."Rules of the Road" Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh 2:42
4."Marry Young"Coleman, Leigh2:20
5."I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" Harry Carroll, Joseph McCarthy 2:40
6."The Best Is Yet to Come"Coleman, Leigh2:28

Personnel

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References

  1. Tony Bennett.com
  2. Ruhlmann, William. "I Left My Heart in San Francisco – Tony Bennett". AllMusic . Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  3. Watson, Jimmy (25 January 1964). "Tony Bennett: I Left My Heart In San Francisco" (PDF). Record Mirror . No. 150. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 148. ISBN   9781846098567 . Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's top pop albums : 1955-1996 : compiled from Billboard magazine's pop album charts, 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 74. ISBN   978-0-8982-0117-8.
  6. "The Complete Collection - Tony Bennett". allmusic.com. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  7. Gary Mamorstein. The Label: The Story of Columbia Records. New York": Thunder's Mouth Press, 2007. p. 375.
  8. Columbia 42000 series discography
  9. I Left My Heart in San Francisco. 2006 reissue, Legacy Records 82876 84782 2, liner notes.