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Theme from New York, New York

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For other songs called New York, New York, see New York, New York (disambiguation) § Music.

"Theme from New York, New York"
New York New York
US vinyl label
Single by Liza Minnelli
from the album New York, New York
B-side"Hazoy" (Ralph Burns and His Orchestra)
ReleasedJune 21, 1977
Genreswing, Broadway, Jazz
Length3:16
LabelUnited Artists
Composer(s)John Kander
Lyricist(s)Fred Ebb
Producer(s)Ralph Burns
"Theme from New York, New York"
Single by Frank Sinatra
from the album Trilogy: Past Present Future
B-side"That's What God Looks Like to Me"
ReleasedApril 1980
RecordedSeptember 19, 1979
GenreJazz
Length3:26
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Fred Ebb, John Kander
Producer(s)Sonny Burke
Frank Sinatra singles chronology
"Night and Day"
(1977) 		"Theme from New York, New York"
(1980) 		"You and Me (We Wanted It All)"
(1980)

"Theme from New York, New York", often abbreviated to just "New York, New York", is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese musical film New York, New York (1977), composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. Liza Minnelli performs the song in the climax of the film. It was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

Two years later, Frank Sinatra covered the song, and it became closely identified with both him and New York City.

History[edit]

Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb attributed the song's success to Robert De Niro, who rejected their original theme for the film because it was "too weak".[1] They had been asked to write a handful of songs for New York, New York. When they were ready, Kander & Ebb played the songs for Martin Scorsese, Liza Minnelli and De Niro. After the recital, De Niro pulled Scorsese aside and convinced him the title song needed to be stronger.[2]

Opening vamp of "New York, New York"
Opening vamp of "New York, New York"

The original lyrics begin, "They always say it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here." The melody of the discarded song is also completely different.[3]: 310–1  Kander & Ebb banged out a replacement in "a very short time...and in great anger".[2] The new song, "Theme from New York, New York", begins with one of Kander's famous vamps, this one derived from the ragtime practice of putting the melody underneath a repeated note.[3]: 25–6  Liza Minnelli's performance was released as a single from the soundtrack album and peaked at #104 on the Billboard chart.[4]

Frank Sinatra[edit]

Frank Military, a longtime associate and former employee of Frank Sinatra's publishing company, was adept at choosing songs for the singer.[5]: 250  Military sent Sinatra a record of "New York, New York" and kept checking in with his secretary to see if he listened to it. Sinatra eventually gave the sheet music to his pianist, Vinnie Falcone, and in October 1978, he began performing it in a medley with "New York, New York" from On the Town.

He hired Don Costa to create a medley of "Autumn in New York", "The Sidewalks of New York", and "Theme from New York, New York" as an overture for his act, entering to Kander's vamp. Audiences loved "New York, New York" so much that he kept moving it later into the set, which he was still closing with "My Way". It was through those performances that Sinatra developed the massive rallentando that defines his interpretation of the song and is immortalized on record. By 1980, "New York, New York" had become the closer for his performances.[5]: 480–1 

Sinatra recorded the song for his triple album Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980), and it eventually became his signature song. Don Costa received a Grammy nomination for the energetic orchestration.[6] Sinatra occasionally performed the song live with Minnelli as a duet. Having known him all her life, she referred to him as "Uncle Frank", and Minnelli teased him that his signature song was written for her.[7]

Sinatra's recording peaked at #32 on June 14, 1980, becoming his final Top 40 hit.[8] It was also an Adult Contemporary hit, reaching #10 in the US[9] and #2 in Canada.[10] In Mexico, it reached #1 on Notitas Musicales' Hit Parade chart in December 1981,[11] remaining in that position for three fortnights. The song made a minor showing in the UK (#59); however, it recharted several years later and reached #4 in 1986. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.

Sinatra made two more studio recordings of the song in 1981 (for his NBC TV special The Man and His Music) and 1993 (for Capitol Records). The latter recording was edited into a duet with Tony Bennett for Sinatra's Duets album.

Lyrics[edit]

The first line of the song is:

Start spreadin' the news, I'm leavin' today
I want to be a part of it: New York, New York.

The song concludes with the line:

If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere,
It's up to you, New York, New York.

Minnelli's original recording of the song (also used in the Tony Bennett version in Duets) uses the following closing line:

If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere,
Come on, come through, New York, New York.

Frank Sinatra altered some of Ebb's lyrics during the recording process, likely as a mistake. During the climax, Ebb's original list of superlative titles runs, "king of the hill, head of the list, cream of the crop, and the top of the heap", which rhymes with "the city that doesn't sleep". Sinatra rendered the titles as "A-number-one, top of the list, king of the hill, A-number-one". Ebb was not fond of the revision but was deeply grateful to Sinatra for giving them an "enormous hit".[2]

Charts[edit]

Liza Minnelli version
Chart (1977) Peak
position
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[12] 104
Frank Sinatra version

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Frank Sinatra version
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Legacy[edit]

The song has been embraced as a celebration of New York City, and is often heard at New York City social events, such as weddings and bar mitzvahs. Many sports teams in New York City have played this song in their arenas/stadiums, but the New York Yankees are the most prominent example. It has been played over the loudspeakers at both the original and current Yankee Stadiums at the end of every Yankee home game since July 1980. Originally, Sinatra's version was played after a Yankees win, and the Minnelli version after a loss.[21] However, due to a complaint from Minnelli, the Sinatra version is now heard regardless of the game's outcome.[22]

By the mid-80s, the song was ubiquitous as the theme in commercials for Kraft's Philadelphia Cream Cheese.[23]

While collaborating with Queen on the soundtrack to Highlander, director Russell Mulcahy begged Freddie Mercury to record "New York, New York". The singer obliged and his 30-second performance appears in the film just before the climax.[24]

Liza Minnelli performed the song live during the July 4, 1986 ceremony marking the rededication of the Statue of Liberty after extensive renovations.[25][26]

Minnelli also performed it on September 21, 2001 at Shea Stadium during the seventh-inning stretch. It was the first game in New York after the attacks on the World Trade Center. The Mets beat the Braves with a dramatic home run by Mike Piazza. It is known as the "9/11 game".[27][28]

In 2004, "New York, New York" ranked #31 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

In the 2005 Arrested Development episode "Queen for a Day" Tobias Fünke starts singing the song in presence of Minnelli's character Lucille Austero, causing her to roll her eyes and complain that "everyone thinks they're Frank Sinatra."[29]

From the 2005 season until 2020, at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark following Staten Island Yankees games, the Sinatra version was heard regardless of the game's outcome, and was formerly done at Shea Stadium at the end of New York Mets games after the September 11, 2001 attack. Previously, Mets fans felt it was a "Yankee song", and began booing it when it was played. It actually first had snippets of the song played after World Series home runs by Ray Knight and Darryl Strawberry during Game 7 of the 1986 World Series. The song is also sometimes played at New York Knicks games. The Sinatra version is played at the end of every New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. It was played at the opening faceoff of Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals at the Garden.[30] The song has also been the post parade song for the Belmont Stakes from 1997 to 2009,[31] and since 2011.[32] Sinatra's version of the song has been played at the end of all four Super Bowls that the New York Giants have won to date, as well as before kickoff of Super Bowl XLVIII, while Minnelli's version was heard after the Giants' Super Bowl XXXV loss.

In 2013, the 1979 recording by Frank Sinatra was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[33]

The song was the musical basis for Jimmy Picker's 1983 three-minute animated short, Sundae in New York, which won the Oscar for Best Short Film (Animated) that year, with a likeness of then-mayor Ed Koch somewhat stumbling through the song, with clay caricatures of New York-based celebrities (including Alfred E. Neuman) and finishing the song with "Basically, I think New York is very therapeutic. Hey, an apple a day is... uh... great for one's constitution!" and burying his face in a big banana split with "THE END" written on his bald head. (Koch used the same rallentando climax Sinatra used, albeit with one big difference: "A-number one, top of the list, king of the hill..." followed by his impression of Groucho Marx completing, "...and incidentally a heckuva nice guy!")[34]

Parodies[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Biography: Liza Minnelli". Directed by Christopher Bruce. A&E. June 11, 2004.
  2. ^ a b c Lunden, Jeff. "Songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb discuss the music they wrote for the movie "New York, New York"". NPR Morning Edition. January 28, 2002 Monday.
  3. ^ a b Leve, James. Kander and Ebb. Yale University Press, 2009.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. United States: Billboard Books. p. 576. ISBN 9780823076901. Retrieved August 18, 2012. Theme From New York, New York" introduced in the movie musical New York, New York by Liza Minnelli (her version "Bubbled Under" at #104 in 1977).
  5. ^ a b Friedwald, Will. Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art. Scribner, 1995.
  6. ^ "Don Costa". Grammy Awards. Recording Academy. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  7. ^ Sinatra, Nancy. Frank Sinatra: An American Legend. General Publishing Group, 1995. 308.
  8. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. June 14, 1980. Retrieved June 6, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 221.
  10. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. July 5, 1980. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  11. ^ "Los Discos Más Populares - Notitas Musicales (15 December)". Facebook. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  13. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. July 5, 1980. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "IRMA". Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "Los Discos Más Populares - Notitas Musicales (15 December)". Facebook. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  16. ^ "Official Charts Company". Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  17. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 5, 1980". Archived from the original on August 12, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  18. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – New York, New York". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  19. ^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. February 22, 1986. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  20. ^ "British single certifications – Frank Sinatra – New York New York". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Stadium Songs: New York Yankees". ESPN.com. July 20, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  22. ^ "10 Facts About Yankee Stadium". Mentalfloss.com. September 23, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  23. ^ Newman, Andrew Adam. "An Accompaniment Moves Beyond the Bagel", The New York Times. April 3, 2011.
  24. ^ LeMieux, Patrick, and Unger, Adam. The Queen Chronology (2nd Edition). Canada, Across The Board Books, 2018. 75f.
  25. ^ Munzenrieder, Kyle (April 13, 2020). "Liza Minnelli Belting "New York, New York" in 1986 Will Enliven Your Spirit". W Magazine. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  26. ^ Goldman, John J.; Mehren, Elizabeth (July 7, 1986). "A Glitzy Finale : Cast of 8,000 Performs in Liberty Fete". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  27. ^ "The Rumble", New York Post. August 28. 2011.
  28. ^ Fanuzzi, Robert; Wolfe, Michael (April 23, 2014). Recovering 9/11 in New York. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-4438-5959-2. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  29. ^ Copeland, Brad. "Queen for a Day", Arrested Development. Fox Broadcasting Corporation. January 23, 2005.
  30. ^ McKinley, Michael (2012). Hockey Night in Canada 60 Seasons. Toronto: Penguin Group. p. 233. ISBN 978-0670066988.
  31. ^ "Belmont Stakes Traditions". Horseracing.about.com. June 15, 2010. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  32. ^ "Sinatra's voice returns to Belmont Stakes". boston.com. Associated Press. June 4, 2011. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  33. ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#t
  34. ^ "Sundae in New York video". Zappinternet.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  35. ^ New York, New York ft. Johnny T, archived from the original on December 12, 2021, retrieved August 9, 2020

External links[edit]

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