It Was a Very Good Year

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It Was a Very Good Year is a song composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 and subsequently made famous by Frank Sinatra. His version won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male in 1966. Gordon Jenkins was awarded Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the Sinatra version. It can be found on the Frank Sinatra album September of My Years.

[edit] Cover versions

This song was introduced by the Kingston Trio on their album Going Places.
The Turtles recorded a version on their debut album, It Ain't Me Babe. This is allegedly the version that influenced Frank Sinatra to want to record his version.
William Shatner did a spoken-word cover of this song interspersed with lines from Hamlet on his 1968 album The Transformed Man.
Lou Rawls covered this song in 1968, which was produced by David Axelrod. Rawls performed this song just before his death on 2006's "An Evening of Stars" telethon, backed by the Rickey Minor Band.
British pop star Robbie Williams recorded a version for his album Swing When You're Winning, in duet with Sinatra's original vocals.
In a 1993 episode of The Simpsons, Homer sings a parody of this song entitled "It Was A Very Good Beer," recounting the first beer he ever purchased (with a fake I.D.)
The Reverend Horton Heat covered the song in 2000 and released it as a single to promote the album Spend a Night in the Box.
It has been adapted in French by Robert Charlebois on his 2001 album Doux Sauvage.
Ray Charles covered the song (as a duet with Willie Nelson) on his 2004 album Genius Loves Company.
In 2005, They Might Be Giants made a parody of this song on their first ever podcast.
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In did a skit where Dan Rowan changes army uniforms from WWII, Korea, and then Vietnam as the song plays in the background.
In the first episode of the second season of the acclaimed HBO drama, The Sopranos, the song is played in the beginning while showing how things have been going since the last season ended.