With over 15 million visitors a year, San Francisco ranks as one of the nations most popular travel destinations. But it was only recently, while researching travel plans of my own, that it dawned on me how iconic San Francisco really is for the American psyche. All of us have seen or heard the city portrayed so many times in music, movies, or commercials that many of these pictures and sounds are now permanently linked to our impression of the city.
I guess popular music is one of the best examples. With its colourful neighborhoods, Fishermans Wharf, and quaint cable cars, San Francisco exudes an unmistakeable romantic character, something it shares with Italian singer Tony Bennetts signature number, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. Bennett, whose real name is Anthony Benedetto, was born in Astoria, Queens in New York City. He got his start when Pearl Bailey hired him to open her show at a Greenwich Village nightclub in the late 1940s. Bennett soon inked a deal with Columbia Records, starting a singing career that would only become more popular as the 1950s rolled on.
Tony Bennett released “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” more or less at the peak of his career in the year 1962. Initially, this Ballad of the Bay enjoyed only moderate success, hitting #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. But the tune did well enough on other charts to ultimately become a gold record. It even was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Record and Top Male Vocal.
Notwithstanding Bennetts success with “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”, lean years were to follow for the singer when the Beatles, Rolling Stones and other British bands first invaded and then conquered America’s pop music scene in the mid-1960s. Those of us who lived through the tumultuous Sixties will also remember other bands forever linked with San Franciscos iconic image as the revolutionary hotbed of Flower Power.
As it turned out, Bennetts career would outlive that of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and The Grateful Dead. Amazingly, the performer got a new lease on life in the late 1980s by serenading a much younger generation hungry for something besides disco dancing, punk and techno tunes. Appearances on David Letterman’s show, Conan OBrien and a twosome with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the MTV Video Music Awards gave the Italian crooner a newer, much hipper image.
Now in his early eighties, Bennett continues to tour and perform, delighting audiences with silky versions of “Fly Me to the Moon” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. The Recording Industry Association of America and the NEA have designated Bennetts homage to San Francisco as one of the most iconic songs of the twentieth century.
Are you ready to leave your heart in San Francisco? If you are, you wont be alone! According to the citys website, San Francisco welcomes more than fifteen million visitors each year, including thousands of honeymooners and countless couples looking for the perfect romantic getaway. See you soon in the City by the Bay!
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