, the voice of the san francisco giants and his radio personality -- kiss radio personality, ranelle brooks

moon. >> thank you so much. thank you, everybody. thank you so much. happy valentine's day, and good afternoon, san francisco. [applause] i am so honored and thrilled to be part of today's celebration. we're going to have a great time as we salute a living legend today. it was 50 years ago, high atop noob -- nob hill in the venetian hotel that tony bennett sang a song for the first time, a song that would become a worldwide and the mind forever with our city. i'm talking about, of course, "i left my heart in san francisco." and what better way to celebrate valentine's day then with a tribute to the most famous love song ever dedicated to our home

town by our city's most beloved troubadour, mr. tony bennett? [applause] and now, everyone, please join the san francisco symphony and our chief of protocol, charlotte schulz, here on stage in welcoming our host, mayor edwin m. lee and first lady anita lee, and the man of the our, our special guest, mr. tony bennett. [applause] -- the man of the our -- the man of the hour, our special guest, mr. tony bennett. [applause] [applause]

[applause]

[applause] that is the way you make an entrance, right? [applause] well, mayor lee, mrs. lee, and

honored guests, for 50 years, the sounds of tony bennett and his rendition of "i left my heart in san francisco" has said to the world that this city by the bay is the capital of love, beauty, and a unique style that made it one of the plan its tourist destinations. mr. bennett, your voice is the voice of san francisco, and this is your day. [applause] we have a fantastic program for you today. we have some local singers inspired by mr. bennett's career, and they will pay tribute to mr. bennett in song. tony bennett, your dedication to young people is known through countless projects such as your exploring the arts foundation and your founding of the frank sinatra school for the arts.

you have proved to be a timeless link between artistic generations. and, of course, your inspiration continues with such incredible and wonderful projects as your recent "duets ii" cd. i have a copy. anybody else? [applause] and check this out, mr. bennett picked up two grammy awards sunday night for that album. [applause] so we congratulate you on that. i believe if you are scoring at home, that makes it 17 grammys in his career. [applause] what we love -- well, we love the cd, but today, we have gone one step further. not just a duet, but an extraordinary trio. i'm pleased to present this trio, performing for the first time together, young people from

the choir of the san francisco school of the arts, the san francisco boys chorus, and the san francisco girls chorus, take it away. [applause] ♪ >> ♪ the loveliness of paris seems somehow sadly gay the glory that was rome is of another day i've been terribly alone and forgotten in manhattan

i'm going home to my city by the bay i left my heart [applause] in san francisco high on a hill it calls to me to be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars the morning fog may chilly air -- chill the air

i don't care my love waits there in san francisco of of -- above the blue and windy sea when i come home to you san francisco your golden sun will shine for me ♪ [applause]

>> that was great, right? fabulous performance by those young people. what an honor it must be for those children to perform for mr. tony bennett today, paying tribute to his great legacy. something they will never forget, i'm sure. we have many others who wanted to pay tribute to you, mr. bennett, an expression of their love for you and for san francisco. i like to read to you just such an expression. this is a letter inspired by you and your song, the winning entry in the love letter to san francisco contest, sponsored by sf travel. if i may -- "dear sf -- can i call you sf? i remember the first time i was

in your presence. age nine. even on your surface, you enchanted me and i never quite recovered. i did not truly fall in love until i spent my 22nd birthday with you. i explore the depths of chinatown. i toured the rock and froze my but off at a giants game in june. i was hooked. unfortunately, i had plans. plans with that boy in missouri, but how i was wrong to leave you. when i found out he was cheating, i ran to you and you took me in without asking questions. i packed my bags and never looked back. every day, i love you more and more. you had made me the happiest girl in the world and given me a real love. i want to spend my life with you exploring every corner and the depths of your soul. i cannot imagine being with any other city. thank you for saving my life. you truly did. sign your is, until the big one

kills us all" -- [laughter] "andy." andy is with us, too. andy lives in the haight. right there. thank you for your love letter to the city. now, i believe we are ready to take a trip down memory lane and check out some of those san francisco landmark that you have made famous, mr. bennett, with your incredible voice and visit some of your longtime friends who also want to pay tribute to you today. >> dear tony, we are here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the recording of your song and our son, -- song, "i left my

heart in san francisco." what better place to be then the fairmont hotel in san francisco where you first sang your song, our song, in the venetian room? i'm going to meet you in places where you have helped us celebrate the city by the bay, so follow me down memory lane. >> ♪ going home to my city by the bay ♪ >> toni, you have been an integral part of my life, and i get emotional because it was a wonderfully happy time. so i want to thank you. >> hello. you are at the home of the little cable cars that climb

halfway to the stars. you know that line, don't you? you remember when we had the celebration to bring back the cable cars in union square and all over town, and you were there. and here is our pal, a bell ringer of the cable cars for 10 years, and he was there on that day, so what happened? >> i had the honor and privilege of meeting mr. bennett. he wrote on my car with me, and we've run down the high-speed hill with the turnarounds, and he sang a few lines of "i left my heart." >> that song? >> yes, and i just wanted to tell him thank-you for all he has done for this city. >> tony bennett, a household word in san francisco, and for me, all the years i have lived in this city, tony bennett has been like the next door

neighbor. wherever i am, whether it is paris, whether it is wrong, whether it is nice, whether it is beijing -- whether it is rome, whether it is shanghai, whether it is some place in africa or some place in russia. if i say, ♪ i left my heart ♪ they immediately say tony and them. that means the national anthem for san francisco and literally for america have come from this extraordinarily talented human being. >> ♪ i left my heart in san francisco ♪ >> ok, here we are down memory lane. we are at the at&t park, home of the san francisco giants. as you know, we sing your song

after every win of the giants, so we have been sitting here a lot. you were here in 2011 for the opening, and you sang your song, and guess what? we won the world series. so, tony, we want you back. [applause] >> tony bennett has said his song "i left my heart in san francisco" changed his whole life. well, it has affected our lives as well. from the first time tony sang this beautiful love song to every time we hear it sweet sounds after a winning giants game, it deepens our love for our home town and for tony bennett. >> ♪ above the blue >> here we are above the blue and windy city been -- sea in your city by the bay.

remember 25 years ago, you were to come here and sing with the san francisco symphony for the 50th anniversary of the golden gate bridge -- you were before me at the theater, and you may remember that this place was really filled with people, thousands and thousands of people that came to celebrate. and you could not get through the crowd. so i said, cassette and ok, let's get a helicopter land it in front of city hall -- "ok, let's get a helicopter, led it in front of city hall." they said you were afraid of helicopters, and i said to blindfold you. magically, you got here and sang your song. when you sang "i left my heart in san francisco" and the cascade of fireworks came over the bridge, it was a moment -- i'm getting chill bumps -- it