September of My Years

September of My Years

General information

Artist

Frank Sinatra

Arranger

Gordon Jenkins

Release date(s)

September 1965 (LP)
1975
October 1986 (CD)
1998
2004
2010

Recorded

April 13–May 27, 1965

Record Label

Reprise

Producer

Sonny Burke

Product code

Track information

Discs

1

Total tracks

11

Length

44:02

Singles

"It Was a Very Good Year"
"The September of My Years"
"Moment to Moment"
"How Old Am I?"

Reception

Allmusic

5 / 5

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Alternate cover art

Chronology

Previous

Softly, as I Leave You

Next

My Kind of Broadway

For the song, "September of My Years", see "The September of My Years".

September of My Years is a 1965 studio album by Frank Sinatra; it was arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album was released as Sinatra's forty-fifth studio album.

Both September of My Years, and A Man and His Music, another 1965 album by Sinatra, won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. This album brought some of Sinatra's best hits such as "The September of My Years", "This Is All I Ask", and one of his highest-rated songs, "It Was a Very Good Year". The latter of which won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male as well.

In 2010, the album was re-released with two bonus tracks: a live performance of "This Is All I Ask", and a higher quality version of "How Old Am I?".

History

Production

Frank Sinatra recorded this album in four separate sessions after the long process of selecting the songs. The sessions caught the eyes of the press greatly and CBS went in with cameras to record Sinatra and his work in the studio with Jenkins' orchestra. The recording was to be done in originally only three sessions for this however in May, Sinatra was approached by his songwriting duo Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, to which they presented him with the album's future title track.

• "Don't Wait Too Long," "September Song," "Last Night When We Were Young," and "Hello, Young Lovers" were recorded on April 13, 1965.
• "I See It Now," "Once Upon a Time," and "When the Wind Was Green" were recorded on April 14, 1965
• "It Gets Lonely Early," "The Man in the Looking Glass," "It Was a Very Good Year," "This Is All I Ask," and "How Old Am I? were recorded on April 22, 1965.
• "The September of My Years" was recorded on May 27, 1965.

Track information

The idea behind September of My Years began when a now middle-aged Sinatra had an idea to make an album based on past loves. He called Gordon Jenkins and soon booked a few recording dates in April 1965. Sinatra was inspired by Jenkins' own "This Is All I Ask" and his own previous recordings of the standard "September Song." The songs featured in the album focus on a story of a middle-aged man recalling past romances he has had in his long life. Inspired by the song, the album was initially to be named September Songs but in May of 1965, after being called upon when the project reached inception, Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn wrote the song "The September of My Years" which became the lead track of the album, giving the album its final name.

Track listing

1. "The September of My Years" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn) – 3:12
2. "How Old Am I?" (Gordon Jenkins) – 3:30
3. "Don't Wait Too Long" (Sunny Skylar) – 3:04
4. "It Gets Lonely Early" (Van Heusen, Cahn) – 2:57
5. "This Is All I Ask" (Jenkins) – 3:03
6. "Last Night When We Were Young" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg) – 3:33
7. "The Man in the Looking Glass" (Bart Howard) – 3:25
8. "It Was a Very Good Year" (Ervin Drake) – 4:25
9. "When the Wind Was Green" (Henry Stinson) – 3:22
10. "Hello, Young Lovers" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 3:41
11. "I See It Now" (Alec Wilder, William Engvick) – 2:50
12. "Once Upon a Time" (Charles Strouse, Lee Adams) – 3:30
13. "September Song" (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) – 3:30

    2010 re-release bonus tracks:

14. "This Is All I Ask" - 3:49 live performance at the Carnegie Hall, New York City, New York, June 12, 1984
15. "How Old Am I?" - 3:30 (1968 Single Version)

Singles

The album's first single "It Was a Very Good Year," was released in 1965 along with the song "Moment to Moment." The second single of the album, the title track, "The September of My Years," was released in 1966, with the title track of Sinatra's 1966 album That's Life. In 1968, "How Old Am I?" finally was released as a single with "I Can't Believe I'm Losing You."

Reception

Allmusic gave September of My Years a perfect five out of five score. About Jenkin's arrangements, Allmusic complements them as "an appropriate reflective atmosphere" and "every cut fits into a loose theme of aging, reflection, and regret."

September of My Years peaked at #5 of the Billboard 200 charts in 1966. The song "It Was a Very Good Year" peaked #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts, as wellas #28 on the Billboard charts.

Awards and nominations

September of My Years literally "cleaned out" at the 1965 Grammy Awards. Sinatra won the award for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" thanks to his rendition of "It Was a Very Good Year." Alongside, Sonny Burke, Sinatra took the award for Album of the Year as well.

In addition to these awards, Stan Cornyn, a composer for the album and album line note-taker, won the award for "Best Album Notes." Gordon Jenkins, the album's arranger, took the award for "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)/Best Background Arrangement" as well.

Personnel

Personnel
Keith Blake	Digital Mastering
Sonny Burke	Producer
Sammy Cahn	Composer
Benny Carter	Composer
Stan Cornyn	Liner Notes
Lowell Frank	Engineer
Gregg Geller	Reissue Producer
James Van Heusen	Composer
Bart Howard	Composer
Don Hunt	Composer
Gordon Jenkins	Arranger, Conductor
Frank Sinatra	Vocals
Henry Stinson	Composer
Ed Thrasher	Art Direction