Tony Bennett’s love affair with San Francisco, in pictures

July 21, 2023

Tony Bennett on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in 1967.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment/Getty Images

Few singers are as interwoven with the fabric of San Francisco as Tony Bennett. Best known for his song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” Bennett was a renowned crooner who released his signature San Francisco tune in 1962. Because of the iconic song, the 19-time Grammy winner became a staple in the city, making countless appearances and adding to the soundtrack of the San Francisco Giants’ championship era.

The love affair between San Francisco and Bennett was mutual. In 1977, Bennett was named an honorary fire captain by the San Francisco Fire Department, according to newspaper archives, and in 2012, he was awarded a key to the city by then-Mayor Ed Lee. Today, Bennett’s likeness is etched in stone outside the Fairmont Hotel atop Nob Hill; the road outside the hotel was renamed Tony Bennett Way in 2018.

On Friday, it was announced that the singer, whose career began in the 1950s and has included a “Simpsons” cameo, duets with Amy Winehouse and Aretha Franklin and a long partnership with Lady Gaga over the years, had died at the age of 96. Below, we’ve compiled some photos of Bennett throughout the years in the City by the Bay.