It Was A Very Good Year

by

Frank Sinatra

Album: September Of My Years

Released: 1965

Charted:

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This was written by Ervin Drake in 1961 for The Kingston Trio, who recorded it on their album Goin' Places in a Folk style with a whistling interlude. Frank Sinatra's 1965 version with lush instrumentation and more dramatic vocals became a hit, winning Grammys in 1966 for Best Male Vocal Performance and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).

The phrase "It was a very good year" is often applied to wine, as the vintages differ in quality. Here, Sinatra sings about the years he remembers fondly in his romantic life and the girls that were part of it. As he's now older, he looks back fondly on these memories, bringing up the wine analogy as the memories have aged well with time.

On the TV show The Sopranos, which is about a quirky crime family from New Jersey, this song was used to open the second season and show how event have progressed since the previous season. Sinatra, who is a New Jersey native, was often associated with organized crime.

Some of the many artists who recorded this song include Don McLean, Herb Alpert, Lou Rawls and Eartha Kitt. Robert Charlebois recorded a French version, and Ray Charles recorded the song as a duet with Willie Nelson. In 2001, Robbie Williams recorded it with Sinatra on his album Swing While You're Winning.

The Liverpool band The Coral borrowed this song's chords for their 2002 album track "Calendars and Clocks."

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Comments (7):

This song was a hit. I remember it as a kid and brings back the days of my childhood

- Larry, Coral Springs, FL

In 1964 Frank Sinatra entered the recording studio and cut an album as if it were an answer to the pop culture "invasion" of the Beatles, et al. His voice was the incredible musical instrument standing above all the others in the orchestra and he played it to perfection. He masterfully and shrewdly commanded that this recording not surpass 5 minutes to guarantee its radio exposure, though the story within the lyric compels it to play out longer. In it, Sinatra does what he does best; he tells a story like no other with his smooth voice. The story is captivating when one considers the time from which it was arranged and recorded. Its not just Sinatra "competing" in the record charts...a fighting spirit that, like an old champion boxer refuses to give up the title belt to the young upstart...its Sinatra and his musical counterparts performing in a song to reflect on a world about to change forever.

We feel the goosebumps of the Beatles on Sullivan when we think of 1964, yet we also feel them when we listen to the Sinatra response and understand from where it comes. It seems to me that if one sits and listens to this piece, quietly, without distraction, one feels something deeply. Its not nostalgia and its not age discriminate (though wisdom helps). Even if one chooses just to listen without the heavy meanings, the unconscious impact is there none-the-less.

Sinatra tells more than just the literal story of a life in this lyric. He tells a story, with passion in his voice, of the richness of every life, especially as a new era of instant gratification beckons. This song is a rebellion, cutting against the grain of popular thought and it defies the non-conformity, conformity taking shape during 1964.

It was a very good year.

- Robert, Cape Coral, FL

What really strikes me about "It Was a Very Good Year," is how mature the song's lyrics are compared to most other songs of that time, Bob Dylan exempted. While most pop songs of the time were about discovering love or sex for the first time, this was more a look back in fondness on the swinging life the narrator had. Personally, I wish I knew more single girls who rode in the back of limousines driven by their chafeurs.

- ted, phoenix, AZ

Yeah, Shatner's cover is the best.
"When I was....twenty-one..... it...was...a..very....GOOD YEAR...." LOL

- Eric, Camas, WA

It was a very good year is more than a song.It is a work of art.This is like poetry set to music.This song is one of the most haunting pieces of music ever recorded.The string arrangements by Gordon Jenkins sweep you away in it's charming beauty and leaves you on cloud nine as it causes the listener to reflect upon times gone by.Sinatra's singing breathes life into the song.A musical masterpiece.

- George, Belleville, NJ

The Trio version is pretty good, too, with their great baritone, Bob Shane, doing the lead vocal.

- kevin, Reading , PA

William Shatner also covered this song, if you can call a remake in his off-the-wall singing style a true cover (as opposed to a parody).

- Joshua, La Crosse, WI

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