Maps of Music

I Left My Heart in San Francisco (1962)

Where the lyrics of I Left My Heart in San Francisco take you, and where it was really made.

The title song was first released as the B-side of another single, yet it became a chart hit and the album was built around it.

Key places

Recording location listed as CBS 30th Street Studio (1962)

Recording site Columbia 30th Street Studio — The album's recording location is listed as CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City. The source names the studio but does not give its exact building position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• I Left My Heart in San Francisco: album by American singer Tony Bennett
• Released in 1962 on Columbia Records
• Originally issued as Columbia rekey CL 1869 (mono) and CS 8669 (stereo)
• One of the best-selling albums of Bennett's career
• The title song became Bennett's signature song
• Columbia assembled the album around the title song single

Background

• In February 1962 Columbia released the title song as the B-side to "Once Upon a Time"
• The title song became a chart hit in its own right
• The album also included material previously released on singles and unused items from earlier sessions
• "The Best Is Yet to Come" was released as Columbia single 41965 in February 1961, with "Marry Young" on the flipside
• Three additional tracks came from sessions spanning 1957 to 1960
• "Taking a Chance on Love" derived from the musical Cabin in the Sky
• "Love for Sale" came from The New Yorkers, and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" came from Oh, Look!
• Bennett's rescue of "Once Upon a Time" from All American gave him "San Francisco" instead

Recording

• The title song was recorded at the January 23, 1962 sessions
• The recording location is listed as CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City
• Tony Bennett sings on the album; Ralph Sharon plays piano
• The Count Basie Orchestra played instruments and arranged "Taking A Chance on Love"
• Arrangers include Marty Manning, Cy Coleman, Ralph Burns and Frank De Vol

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Long Island City, Queens, New York City.
• Grew up in poverty after his father, a grocer, became unable to work and died when Tony was ten.
• Sang for money from age 13 as a singing waiter in Italian restaurants in Queens.
• Attended New York's School of Industrial Art but dropped out at 16 to help support his family.

Military service

• Drafted into the U.S. Army in November 1944 and fought as an infantryman in the final stages of World War II.
• Stayed in Germany with the occupying force and sang with an Army Special Services band under the name Joe Bari.

Career

• Studied bel canto at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill; Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope helped launch him, and Hope shortened his name to Tony Bennett.
• Signed with Columbia Records in 1950; first number-one hit "Because of You" in 1951.
• Shifted toward jazz singing in the late 1950s; "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (1962) became his signature song.
• Declined commercially during the rock era and struggled with addiction and debt until a comeback in the late 1980s, managed by his son Danny.
• The 1994 MTV Unplugged album won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Later career

• Collaborated with Lady Gaga from Cheek to Cheek (2014) through Love for Sale (2021).
• Won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
• Received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Co-founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens with Susan Crow.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said the album showed the key was found through the title track and through songs such as "Once Upon a Time"
• Billboard described the album as one of Bennett's most salable albums
• Cashbox described the album as a powerful LP
• Variety noted Bennett reprised earlier single outings with a vocal punch suited to top programming play
• Nigel Hunter of Disc said the set contains superb songs, from softly sentimental ballads to smoothly controlled swingers
• Record Mirror praised Bennett for his handling of the title song

Records

• Billboard Top LPs chart: debuted in the issue dated October 13, 1962, 149 weeks on the chart, peak number 5
• Cashbox albums chart: debuted in the issue dated July 14, 1962, 184 weeks on the chart in total, peak number 3
• UK album chart: entered on May 29, 1965, peak number 13, 14 weeks on the chart
• RIAA: certified platinum
• 1962 Grammy Awards: two wins for the title song, Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title song was first the B-side of "Once Upon a Time" in February 1962 but became a chart hit in its own right.
• Tony Bennett won two Grammys in 1962 for the title song.
• The 1995 CD put tracks 1 through 12 of this album together with Bennett's 1963 album I Wanna Be Around on one disc.
• On November 8, 2011, Sony Music Distribution included the CD in The Complete Collection box set.
• The album entered the UK album chart on May 29, 1965, reaching number 13.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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