"Softly As I Leave You" started life in 1960 as "Piano" (Softly) (Tony De Vita - Giorgio Calabrese) by Italian singer Mina (Mazzini). This was the Italian entry at the San Remo Music Festival.

Hal Shaper wrote the English lyric and it was he who changed the title. The smooth Matt Monroe was first to hit with this cover in 1962 when it reached the top ten in Britain.

The Frank Sinatra hit of "Softly As I Leave You" comes from the album of the same name. This peaked at number twenty-seven on Billboards' pop chart and number four Easy Listening in 1964.