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My Kind of Town

{{About|the song|the TV series|My Kind of Town (TV series){{!}}My Kind of Town (TV series)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{Infobox song

| name = My Kind of Town

| cover = My_Kind_of_Town_-_Frank_Sinatra.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Frank Sinatra

| album = Sinatra '65: The Singer Today

| B-side = I Like To Lead When I Dance

| released = May 1964

| recorded = April 8, 1964

| studio = Los Angeles

| venue =

| genre = {{hlist|Vocal jazz|swing|{{nowrap|traditional pop}}}}

| length = 3:25

| label = Reprise Records

| writer = Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen

| producer =

| prev_title = Stay With Me (Theme From The Cardinal)

| prev_year = 1963

| next_title = Softly, As I Leave You

| next_year = 1964

}}

"My Kind of Town" or "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.{{cite web|url=http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Frank-Sinatra/My-Kind-Of-Town.html|access-date=September 26, 2007|title=Frank Sinatra My Kind Of Town Lyrics|publisher=SeekLyrics.com|year=2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823022100/http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Frank-Sinatra/My-Kind-of-Town.html|archive-date=August 23, 2004|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

The song was originally part of the musical score for Robin and the 7 Hoods, a 1964 musical film starring several members of the Rat Pack.Shapiro, Nat and Bruce Pollock (eds.), "Popular Music 1920-1979, (A Revised Cumulation)" Volume 2: Song Listing J-T, 1985, Gale Research Company, {{ISBN|0-8103-0847-9}}. It was nominated for the 1964 Academy Award for Best Original Song but lost to "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from Mary Poppins.{{cite web|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1190839931934|access-date=September 26, 2007|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|title=1964 (37th) - MUSIC (Song)}} Although the song predated the Grammy Award Best Original Song for a Motion Picture category, the entire score was nominated for the 1964 Grammy Award in the category Best Original Score Written for A Motion Picture, but it lost to the eponymously titled Mary Poppins score.{{cite web|url=http://www.the-main-event.eu/musik/grammyawards/19647thgrammyawards.html|access-date=October 1, 2007|publisher=Sinatra - The Main Event|title=1964 - 7th Grammy Awards|year=1999}}

"My Kind of Town" made a minor appearance on the U.S. pop charts, reaching #110 in 1964.[Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004] It was the second of two charting songs about Chicago recorded by Sinatra. The other was "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" from 1957, which reached U.S. #84.

Frank Sinatra recorded several versions which have appeared on many of his albums. Also, many artists have performed the song as a tribute to Sinatra in posthumous tribute albums. In addition, the song had been recorded by many other artists prior to Sinatra's death. The lyrics, which praise the city of Chicago for its people and institutions, repeat the title phrase several times, usually in a line that says "My kind of town, Chicago is".

Versions

The original context of the song, in the film Robin and the 7 Hoods, is the mob boss Robbo (Sinatra) having just been acquitted of murdering the sheriff, a crime for which he had been framed. He walks out of the courthouse and joyously sings the song in gratitude to the gathered crowd of Chicagoans. The people eventually join in the singing. Instrumental versions of the song make up the opening and closing credits, and a dance band also plays the song in Robbo's speakeasy.

Popularized by Sinatra, "My Kind of Town" was originally recorded on April 8, 1964, in Los Angeles, California. The official B-side song was "I Like To Lead When I Dance". The song was recorded as a 45 on Reprise Records.{{cite web|url=http://www.songsbysinatra.com/records/singles.html|access-date=September 26, 2007|publisher=Tom Rednour & Wordcrafters Graphic Design|date=July 31, 2000|title=Songs by Sinatra|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305162218/http://www.songsbysinatra.com/records/singles.html|archive-date=March 5, 2008|df=mdy-all}} The sheet music was copyrighted and published by Sergeant Music Co., Glorste Inc. and Van Heusen Music Corp. The music is written in the key of A-flat, in 2/2 meter (known as cut time) with an allegro tempo.Cahn, Sammy and Jimmy Van Heusen, "My Kind of Town", 1964, Sergeant Music Co., Glorste Inc. and Van Heusen Music Corp.

Sinatra recorded "My Kind of Town" twice in a studio setting, and two live versions were officially released, on Sinatra at the Sands (1966) and The Main Event – Live (1974).{{cite web|url=http://songsbysinatra.com/songs/a2z/a2z_main.html|access-date=September 26, 2007|publisher=Tom Rednour & Wordcrafters Graphic Design|date=July 31, 2000|title=Songs by Sinatra: Songs A2Z}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} One of the more famous bootleg recordings is a concert of May 22, 1968, at the Oakland Coliseum. On the 1966 album Sinatra at the Sands, the song appears both as the 20th and 22nd (final) track.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000006OBQ|access-date=September 27, 2007 |title=Sinatra at the Sands|publisher=Amazon.com, Inc.}} However, the final track is merely a one-minute reprise. On the 1994 album Duets II, Sinatra sings with his son, Frank Sinatra Jr., as the 13th of 14 tracks with a length of 2:36.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002TO1|access-date=September 26, 2007|title=Duets II |publisher=Amazon.com, Inc.}}

Sinatra would occasionally alter the lyrics slightly. In early versions, when the Union Stock Yards (which closed in 1971) still existed, one of the final lines was "The Union Stock Yards, Chicago is...". In later versions, this line is replaced with "The Chicago Cubbies, Chicago is".{{cite web|url=http://www.waste.org/bauhaus/l/mykindoftown.html|title=My Kind Of Town|access-date=September 26, 2007|publisher=waste.org}} In the version sung by Sinatra at The Sands, Las Vegas, in 1966, the line is replaced with "The jumpin' pump room, Chicago is...", alluding to The Pump Room restaurant in Chicago.{{cite web|url=https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/2742777/Sinatra+at+the+Sands/My+Kind+of+Town|title= My Kind of Town, lyrics used at the Sands|access-date=February 18, 2021}} The song also appears on The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin', a 2003 DVD and CD release of the 1965 "Frank Sinatra Spectacular" benefit concert. However, since the concert takes place in St. Louis, Missouri, the lyrics were altered to reflect St. Louis as the town in Sinatra's affections.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000CF342|access-date=September 27, 2007|publisher =Amazon.com, Inc.|title=The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin (CD & DVD)}}{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404206/|access-date=September 27, 2007|publisher=Internet Movie Database Inc.|title=Live and Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection|date=October 14, 2003}}

class="wikitable"

!width="75"| Recording Date

!width="75"| Company

!width="75"| Format

!width="200"| Album

!width="100"| Track:Album

!width="50"| Album Date

!width="200"| Collaborators

!width="100"|Arranged by

1964-04-08

| Reprise Records

| Studio

| Sinatra '65: The Singer Today

| 6/11:1/1

| June 1965

|

| Nelson Riddle

1966-02-01

| Reprise Records

| Live (The Sands Hotel, Las Vegas)

| Sinatra at the Sands

| 20/22:1/1, 22/22:1/1

| 1966-10-18

| the Count Basie Band

| Adapted by Quincy Jones

1974-10-13

| Reprise Records

| Live

| The Main Event – Live

| 11/12:1/1

| October 1974

| Woody Herman & The Young Thundering Herd

| Nelson Riddle

1993-07-09

| Capitol Records

| Electronic Duet

| Duets II

| 13/14:1/1

| 1994-11-15

| Frank Sinatra Jr.

| Nelson Riddle

Although some sources say the song was arranged by Nelson Riddle (who had scored Robin and the 7 Hoods), the "Sinatra Reprise: Very Good Years" Album Cover credits Billy May as the arranger."Sinatra Reprise: Very Good Years" Album Cover, pg 10., 1991, Reprise Records

The following is a list of notable compilation albums with Sinatra's versions of the song:

  1. Sinatra: Vegas{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r860404|pure_url=yes}}|title= Sinatra: Vegas|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  2. Oakland Coliseum Concert: May 22, 1968{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r611351|pure_url=yes}}|title= Oakland Coliseum Concert: May 22, 1968|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  3. A Man and His Music{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r67985|pure_url=yes}}|title=A Man and His Music|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  4. Sinatra at the Sands{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r67986|pure_url=yes}}|title= Sinatra at the Sands|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  5. The Reprise Collection{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r24256|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Reprise Collection|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  6. Frank Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r591362|pure_url=yes}}|title=Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  7. Robin and the 7 Hoods{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r503808|pure_url=yes}}|title= Robin and the 7 Hoods|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  8. The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r228577|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  9. The Main Event – Live{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r67991|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Main Event – Live|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  10. Duets II (DVD){{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r207142|pure_url=yes}}|title= Duets II|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}

{{hidden begin|title=Less notable albums|titlebackground=lime}}

Other less notable albums including the Song are

  1. Ultimate Legends: Frank Sinatra{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r674424|pure_url=yes}}|title=Ultimate Legends: Frank Sinatra|access-date= October 2, 2007|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC }}
  2. A Night on the Town With the Rat Pack{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r654817|pure_url=yes}}|title=A Night on the Town With the Rat Pack|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  3. My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r342104|pure_url=yes}}|title=My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  4. Sings the Songs of Van Heusen & Cahn{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r26350|pure_url=yes}}|title= Sings the Songs of Van Heusen & Cahn|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  5. The Rat Pack on Stage: Las Vegas/St. Louis{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r725557|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Rat Pack on Stage: Las Vegas/St. Louis|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  6. The Very Best of Frank Sinatra{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r277384|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Very Best of Frank Sinatra|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  7. Rat Pack: Live & Cool{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r744370|pure_url=yes}}|title=Rat Pack: Live & Cool|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  8. Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964
  9. Sinatra!{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r76515|pure_url=yes}}|title= Sinatra!|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  10. Man and His Music 3{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r420460|pure_url=yes}}|title= Man and His Music 3|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  11. Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r24268|pure_url=yes}}|title=Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  12. Duets/Duets II: 90th Birthday Limited Collector's Edition{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r807901|pure_url=yes}}|title= Sinatra!|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  13. Rat Pack: From Vegas to St. Louis{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r573976|pure_url=yes}}|title= Rat Pack: From Vegas to St. Louis|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  14. My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r523096|pure_url=yes}}|title= My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  15. Live and Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r660221|pure_url=yes}}|title= Live and Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  16. The Best Duets{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r796107|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Best Duets|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}
  17. Most Famous Hits (DVD){{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r825547|pure_url=yes}}|title= Most Famous Hits|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}

{{hidden end}}

Awards

=Academy Awards=

{{see also|37th Academy Awards}}

The song was one of 26 for which Cahn was nominated for an Academy Award as a writer and one of 14 for which Van Heusen was nominated as a composer. Both won 4 Academy Awards and 3 of them as a team. The April 5, 1965 37th Academy Awards was the last of four times Cahn was nominated for two songs in the same year, and the second of two times for Van Heusen. It was the only time that they had two songs nominated as a team, with the other being "Where Love Has Gone" from Where Love Has Gone sung by Jack Jones.{{cite web|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1190911776436|access-date=September 27, 2007|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|title=Results displayed by nominee}} In addition to the winner, "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from Mary Poppins, other songs nominated in 1964 were "Dear Heart from Dear Heart and "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" from Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.

=Grammy Awards=

{{see also|7th Grammy Awards}}

The Grammy Awards did not have a Best Song Written for a Motion Picture category until 1988. However, the entire score was nominated for Best Original Score Written for A Motion Picture or Television Show in the April 13, 1965 7th Grammy Awards ceremony for 1964 musical accomplishments where it lost to the Mary Poppins score. Other credited vocalists on the score were Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and Sammy Davis Jr. It also competed against A Hard Day's Night, Goldfinger and The Pink Panther in this category.

Related songs

Aaron Tippin sings a song with different lyrics by the same name.{{cite web|url=http://www.lyricscrawler.com/song/113230.html|access-date=September 26, 2007|publisher=Roy Russo|work=lyricscrawler.com|title=Aaron Tippin Lyrics - My Kind of Town|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907190538/http://www.lyricscrawler.com/song/113230.html|archive-date=September 7, 2008|url-status=dead}} Frank Sinatra sings a popular version of "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" that charted and was the B-side to the 1957 Academy Award for Best Original Song winner, "All the Way".

On Ruby Braff's 1981 tribute album, Very Sinatra he does a medley called "New York, New York/My Kind Of Town (Chicago Is)".{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000293U|access-date=September 27, 2007|publisher=Amazon.com, Inc. |title=Very Sinatra}} On Barry Manilow's 1998 album Manilow Sings Sinatra, he includes a 3:00 version of the song.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000DFSG|access-date=September 27, 2007|publisher=Amazon.com, Inc.|title=Manilow Sings Sinatra}}

Jack Jones, who won two Grammy Awards in the 1960s and charted dozens of songs including the theme from The Love Boat, recorded an album entitled My Kind of Town with a title track by the same name.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000S4DXTI|access-date=September 27, 2007|publisher=Amazon.com, Inc.|title=My Kind of Town}} Among the other artists who have recorded versions of the song are Ray Anthony, Count Basie (twice), Ray Conniff, Marvin Gaye, Jackie Gleason, Jeff Harnar, Biréli Lagrène, Steve Lawrence, Julie London, Frankie Randall (several times. In addition several albums by the Rat Pack,{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r810904|pure_url=yes}}|title= Live from Las Vegas|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}}{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r912100|pure_url=yes}}|title= The Rat Pack Collection|publisher=All Media Guide, LLC|access-date=October 2, 2007}} multiple karaoke albums and dozens of Frank Sinatra albums have versions of the song.{{Cite web|url=http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:1042715 |access-date=October 1, 2007 |year=2007 |work=Allmusic |publisher=All Media Guide, LLC |title=Song Search Results for: My Kind Of Town |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603090016/http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg |archive-date=June 3, 2009 }}

Notes

{{reflist|2}}

{{Frank Sinatra}}

{{Frank Sinatra singles}}

{{Chicago}}

{{good article}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1964 songs

Category:Frank Sinatra songs

Category:Reprise Records singles

Category:Songs about Chicago

Category:Songs written for films

Category:Songs with lyrics by Sammy Cahn

Category:Songs with music by Jimmy Van Heusen