Saturday 9

 

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: I Left My Heart in San Francisco (1962)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is a valentine to the city of San Francisco. Songwriters George Cory and Douglas Cross moved to New York to find fame and fortune and found themselves homesick for the city by the bay. Have you ever been homesick? Or, in the parlance of the song, where have you left your heart? 

Why, actually, the song you mention in question 6... I grew up on Long Island,  a suburban child in love with New York City.  I went to college up Albany, NY, which is about a 4-hour bus ride north of NYC.  I'd take a Greyhound bus home with this song playing in my head.

 

2) Cory and Cross were buddies with Ralph Sharon, a piano player who often worked with Tony Bennett. Ralph brought the song to Tony and the results were very happy for all involved. Have you more recently done, or been on the receiving end of, a favor?

A friend of mine needed a ride to a doctor's appointment yesterday.  I was happy to be her taxi.

 
3) The lyrics compare San Francisco to Paris, Rome and Manhattan. Have you visited those cities?  

I've never been to Paris or Rome, though I'd like to go.  As for Manhattan...yeah, I might have been there once or twice ...

4) This week's artist, Tony Bennett, sang professionally for the last time in August. He retired after performing at Radio City Music Hall with Lady Gaga. Their musical collaboration dates back to when they both performed at President Obama's inauguration. Though 60 years apart in age, they became fast friends based on their shared love of jazz. Do you find that most of your friends are older than you, younger than you, or within 5 years of you? 

Most of my friends are about the same age I am.

5) While Lady Gaga grew up listening to Tony Bennett, as a young man Tony recalled listening to Bing Crosby, Judy Garland and Joe Venuti. Which singers did you enjoy during your teen years? 

Billy Joel and Elton John come to mind.  So do  Harry Chapin and John Denver. Many more, my taste in music has always been broad.

6) While he's famous for singing about San Francisco, Tony is a proud son of New York. Born in Queens, he chose to end his career at Radio City Music Hall and was excited to perform "New York State of Mind" with Billy Joel at Shea Stadium in 2008. Do you have a favorite Billy Joel song?  

 
7) Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra may have been competitors but they shared mutual admiration. Sinatra called Bennett "the best singer in the business," and Bennett did a Sinatra homage album called Perfectly Frank. Think of people you have worked with over the years. Tell us about someone who has impressed you, and why. 

Carol was one of my supervisors at my first job out of law school.  She was a brilliant attorney and a good friend.  She was my mentor.  But that was a long time ago, and we've lost touch.  I just looked her up, and I think she may have retired. 

8) The 1970s were a difficult period for Tony. During the days of disco and Studio 54, he said singing new songs made him feel like his mother, a talented seamstress, when she was forced to make a cheap dress. OK, so Tony doesn't like disco! Is there a genre of music you just don't care for? 

I like many genres of music.  I thnk I can find something I like in almost any category. 

9) Random question: Imagine you're the passenger in a long car ride. Are you more likely to be calm or fidgety?

I don't have to imagine.  I wrote my responses to these questions on Friday.  I will be in the car on Saturday morning.  We have a four-five hour drive  to Corning, in upstate New York, to attend a friend's birthday party.   I will have my iPad in hand, with the GPS running, since I am the navigator.  I will also be checking  Facebook, reading emails, playing solitaire, etc.  because I cannot relax when I am a passenger.