ILetMyHeartInSanFrancisco

(17) I've found it!!～the second chorus of "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" (Japanese version) 　translated by Yoshie Kishida

This is the big name song of Tony Bennett, and I found the lyric of the second chorus of it from a record by Carmen McRae, named "Carmen McRae 1963 album Live at Sugar Hill, San Francisco". I don't know yet whether it had originally been or Carmen wrote it by herself. It can be that Carmen wrote it because she was a
songwriter when she was young. At age of sixteen, she wrote "Dream of Life" for Billie Holiday.

She starts singing like this: "I took a trip from San Francisco." I'm sure that most of people haven't heard this version, so I recommend you to practice it if this song is one of your repertory. You'd feel better and
proud on the stage!!

(18) Is Tony Bennett a Jazz singer?

Tony Bennett(1926- )

In the concerts Tony Bennett always says like this: "I'm 'a popular singer' in America. Now I'd like to sing 'American songs' for you audience."

He never says that he is a jazz singer himself. Singers around Sinatra are never called jazz singers; Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and so on. Actually it's none of our business what kind of group they belong to.

It's a bad custom for many of Japanese people to categorize any things. Of course, there are some also in the United States.

Tony's songs moved Sinatra enough to say "I'll pay only for Tony."

This year of 2000 is his 50th anniversary after he made a debut as a singer, to mark the start of a new phase.

In fact, he performed only one night in Tokyo and said "This is the start for another fifty years." on March 19, 2000.