I Left My Heart in San Francisco (tr Reed)

From Wind Repertory Project
George Cory

George C Cory Jr (trans. Alfred Reed; ed. R Mark Rogers)


General Info

Year: 1954 / 1963 / 2018
Duration: c. 4:10
Difficulty: III-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Pop song
Publisher: Southern Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $65.00   |   Score Only (print) - $15.00

For further availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bells
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Suspended Cymbal


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

I Left My Heart in San Francisco is a popular song, written in the fall of 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, by George Cory (1920-1978) and Douglass Cross (1920-1975) and best known as the signature song of Tony Bennett.

In 1962 the song was released as a single by Bennett on Columbia Records as the b-side to "Once Upon a Time," peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was also included on the album of the same name. The song is one of the official anthems for the city of San Francisco.

The music was written by Cory, with lyrics by Cross, about two amateur writers and gay life partners nostalgic for San Francisco after moving to New York.

Cory shared in the 1963 Grammy award for the song.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


When the song was written in 1953, Cory and Cross were amateur songwriters who had moved to New York following military service in World War II and were homesick for the west coast. After pitching the song unsuccessfully to other artists for about eight years, the song was picked up by Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett’s musical director, who suggested to Bennett that it would be a good song for a 1962 New Year’s engagement scheduled at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Mayor George Christopher and future mayor Joseph L. Alioto were in attendance. After a good response to the song, Bennett recorded it shortly thereafter and released it in February 1962. The song has become an enduring hit, and in 1969 was named as the official song of San Francisco, with the song’s creators present when the city’s Board of Supervisors decided unanimously to make that designation.

- Program Note from score


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Sul Ross State University (Uvalde, Tx.) Communiversity Band (Jeffrey J. Meyer, director) - 4 July 2019
  • Oak Ridge (Tenn.) Community Band (Shaun Salem, conductor) – 10 February 2019


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources