(I Left My Heart) In San Francisco

Tony Bennett was born and raised in New York City, but in this song his home - and his heart - are in San Francisco with the girl he loves. The song serves as a love letter not just to the girl, but to the city, with Bennett singing about the golden sun, the morning fog and the famous cable cars. It became the signature song not just for Bennett, but for the city of San Francisco.

"I Left My Heart In San Francisco" was written in 1954 by two then-unknown songwriters, George C. Cory, Jr. and Douglass Cross. Cory wrote the music and Cross wrote the lyrics. According to Tony Bennett's autobiography Just Getting Started, that year they pitched the song to Bennett's pianist and musical director, Ralph Sharon, who put the music manuscript in a shirt drawer and forgot about it until 1961, when he discovered it while packing for their upcoming tour. Sharon brought it along, figuring it would be fun to perform during their show at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco. Bennett agreed and sang it at that show. It got a great reaction, especially from the bartender, who told Tony, "If you make a record of that song, I'll buy it." Bennett recorded the song in 1962 and started performing it regularly. Slowly but surely, it became his most popular song.

The song was first released as the B-side of "Once Upon A Time" (from the play All American), which Bennett thought was the hit. When he went on a promotional tour, "Once Upon A Time" didn't get the reaction he was hoping for. Someone at his label, Columbia Records, convinced him they had the single backwards, so Bennett agreed to let them flip it and make "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" the A-side. The song slowly climbed the Hot 100, and although it peaked at just #19 (in October 1962), it remained on the chart for almost nine months. It was chosen as the title track to the album, which reached the Top 5 and went Gold. The song won Bennett Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male. Both the album and single sold very well, as did the sheet music for the song.