"Theme from New York, New York" (or "
New York, New York") is the theme song from the
Martin ScorseseMartin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation, a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe,...
film
New York, New YorkNew York, New York is a musical-drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, released in 1977. It is a musical tribute, featuring new songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb as well as standards, to Scorsese's home town of New York City, and stars Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli as a pair of musicians and...
(1977), composed by
John KanderJohn Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Biography:...
, with lyrics by
Fred EbbFred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera....
. It was written for and performed in the film by
Liza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American singer and actress of film, stage and television. She is the daughter of entertainer Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
.
History
In 1980, it was recorded by
Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the...
, for his album
Trilogy: Past Present FutureTrilogy: Past Present Future is a 1980 triple album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. This album produced the last of Sinatra's many signature numbers, "Theme from New York, New York."...
(1980), and has since become closely associated with him. He occasionally performed it live with Minnelli as a duet. Sinatra recorded it a second time in duet with
Tony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
for his 1993 album
DuetsDuets is an album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in 1993.Recorded near the end of Sinatra's career, it consists of duets between Sinatra and other guest star singers from various genres; Sinatra personally chose the performers...
.
The first line of the song is
The song concludes with the line
Minelli's original recording of the song uses the following closing line
It should not be confused with the song
"New York, New York""New York, New York" is a song from the 1944 musical and the 1949 MGM musical film On the Town. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town...
, from
Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
/
Adolph GreenAdolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
/
Betty ComdenBetty Comden , was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
's musical
On the Town, which features the lyric "New York, New York, is a helluva town / The Bronx is up and the Battery's down..."
Composers Kander and Ebb stated on the A&E
BiographyBiography is a documentary television series. Originally a half-hour filmed series produced for syndication by David Wolper in 1962-63 and hosted by Mike Wallace, the A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
episode about
Liza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American singer and actress of film, stage and television. She is the daughter of entertainer Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
that they attribute the song's success to actor
Robert De NiroRobert Mario De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer.De Niro is well-known for his method acting and portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese...
, who rejected their original theme for the film because he thought it was "too weak."
The song did not become a popular hit until it was picked up in concert by
Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the...
during his performances at
Radio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
in October 1978. Subsequently, Sinatra recorded it in 1979 for his 1980
TrilogyTrilogy: Past Present Future is a 1980 triple album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. This album produced the last of Sinatra's many signature numbers, "Theme from New York, New York."...
set (
Reprise RecordsReprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra, which is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
), and it became one of his
signature songA signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
s. The single peaked at #30 in June 1980, becoming one of his final hits on the charts. Sinatra made two more studio recordings of the song in 1981 (for his NBC TV special
The Man and His MusicThe Man and His Music is a 1986 album by Sam Cooke, released posthumously.-Track listing:# "Touch the Hem of His Garment"# "That's Heaven to Me"# "I'll Come Running Back to You"# "You Send Me"# "Win Your Love "...
) and 1993 (for
Capitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States-based record label owned by EMI and located in Los Angeles and New York City as part of Capitol Music Group...
). From the latter, an electronic duet with
Tony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
was produced for Sinatra's
Duets album.
The lyrics of the Sinatra versions differ slightly from Ebb's original lyrics. Notably, the phrase "A-number-one," which does not appear at all in the original lyrics, is sung twice at the song's rallentando climax. (Ebb has said he "didn't even like" Sinatra's use of "A-number-one." ) The phrase is both the first and fourth on a list of four superlative titles the singer strives to achieve — "A-number-one, top of the list, king of the hill, A-number-one" — where Ebb's original lyrics were closer to "king of the hill, head of the list, cream of the crop, at the top of the heap."
Appearance in popular culture
The song has been embraced as a celebration of
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, and is often heard at New York-area social events, such as weddings and bar mitzvahs. Many sports teams in the New York area have played this song in their arenas/stadiums, but the
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division...
are the most prominent example. It has been played over the loudspeakers at both the original and
current Yankee StadiumsYankee Stadium was a stadium at East 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx in New York City. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and after extensive renovations, from 1976 to 2008. The stadium had a capacity of 57,545 and hosted 6,581...
at the end of every Yankee home game. At first, Sinatra's version was played after a Yankees win, and the Minnelli version after a loss. Minnelli also raised some controversy when, in 2001, she demanded that the Yankees play her version after a win, or not play it at all. The Yankees took the latter option, and played Sinatra's version after wins and losses. As of the 2005 season, at the
Richmond County Bank BallparkThe Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George is a baseball stadium located on the north-eastern tip of Staten Island. The ballpark is the home of the Staten Island Yankees, the NY-Penn League affiliate of the New York Yankees, and of Wagner College Seahawks Baseball. The ballpark was also...
following
Staten Island YankeesThe Staten Island Yankees are a minor league baseball team, located in Staten Island, New York. Affectionately nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Staten Island Yankees are a Short-Season A classification affiliate of the New York Yankees and play in the New York - Penn League at Richmond County Bank...
games, the Sinatra version is heard regardless of the game's outcome, and was formerly done at
Shea StadiumWilliam A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium located in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
at the end of
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
games after the
September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners...
. Previously, Mets fans believed that the song was a "Yankee Song," and began booing it when it was played. It actually first had snippets of the song played after
World SeriesThe World Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada since 1903, concluding the postseason of Major League Baseball...
home runs by
Ray KnightCharles Ray Knight is a former right-handed Major League Baseball player who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He was primarily a third baseman, although he did see some action at first base, second base, designated hitter, shortstop and in the outfield...
and
Darryl StrawberryDarryl Eugene Strawberry is a former American baseball player who is well-known both for his play on the field and for his controversial behavior off of it...
during Game 7 of the
1986 World SeriesThe 1986 World Series pitted the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox. It was cited in the legend of the "Curse of the Bambino" to explain the error by Bill Buckner in Game 6 that allowed the Mets to extend the series to a seventh game...
. The song is also sometimes played at
New York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, known familiarly as the Knicks, are a professional National Basketball Association team based in New York City, and the most valuable franchise in the league, valued at $608 million...
games. The Sinatra version is played at the end of every
New York RangersThe New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
game at Madison Square Garden.
The song was the musical basis for Jimmy Picker's 1983 Academy Award winning animated short,
Sundae in New York, with a likeness of then-mayor
Ed KochEdward Irving "Ed" Koch was a United States Congressman from 1969 to 1977 and the Mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989.-Early life:...
somewhat stumbling through the song, with clay caricatures of New York based celebrities (including
Alfred E. NeumanAlfred E. Neuman is the fictional mascot and iconic cover boy of Mad magazine. The face had drifted through American pictography for decades before being claimed and named by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman.-History:...
) 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.
Since 1997, the song has also been performed during the post parade of the
Belmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The race is the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, following five weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes...
horse race, either as an edit of the Sinatra version or a live trackside performance by singers such as
Linda EderLinda Eder is an American singer and actress.Born in Tucson, Arizona on February 3, 1961 and raised in Brainerd, Minnesota. Her parents, Georg and Leila , Eder was exposed to music at an early age. She cites Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Eileen Farrell as her childhood inspiration...
or
Ronan TynanRonan Tynan is a singer in the classical Irish style. He is most famous for his renditions of "God Bless America" at Yankee Stadium during important New York Yankees games, such as Opening Day, nationally-televised games, the last game at the old Yankee Stadium, and playoff games...
. It replaced "Sidewalks of New York" as the horse race's signature song, although the latter tune is still sung by the on-track crowd before the race.
The song is also played a few seconds after the ball drop in
Times SquareTimes Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
every New Year's, after
Auld Lang Syne"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song...
.
The theme from New York, New York has also been played during Columbia University and New York University Commencements.
Queen also recorded the song, and it was used in the soundtrack for the film
HighlanderHighlander is a 1986 fantasy action film directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a story by Gregory Widen. It stars Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, and Roxanne Hart...
. Queen's version was never released.
Despite Sinatra's version becoming more familiar, original singer Minnelli had two of the tune's most memorable live performances -- during the July 4, 1986 ceremony marking the rededication of the
Statue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty , officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World , dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship...
after extensive renovations, and in the middle of the seventh inning of a
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
game that was the first pro sports event in the metro area after the
September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners...
. She also also sang it in the Olympic stadium during the
1984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984. Los Angeles was selected as the host of the Games on May 18, 1978 on the 80th IOC session at Athens, Greece, without a vote,...
, accompanied by 24 pianos and strobe lights.
In the
Arrested Development episode "
Queen for a Day"Queen for a Day" is the 30th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:As George Michael is getting ready for school he comes across a box of love letters he'd written but never sent to Maeby. Michael comes in to offer George Michael a ride to school, causing George Michael to...
" Minnelli's character Lucille Austero wearily referenced the general confusion over the song's origins when she said, "Everybody thinks they're Frank Sinatra" after hearing Tobias Fünke's rendition in a
gay barA gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
heavily populated by
drag queenA drag queen is a person, usually a man, who dresses, and usually acts, like a woman often for the purpose of entertaining or performing. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly from professionals who have starred in movies to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by...
s.
The song is featured in the movie Gremlins 2, with
Tony RandallTony Randall was an American actor , comic, producer and director.-Early years :Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, who was an art and antiques dealer...
singing as the Brain Gremlin.
The song is played after
fireworksA firework is a low explosive pyrotechnic device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
Covers
- Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey DBE is a singer who found fame in the late 1950s and has continued a successful career since then worldwide. She is also well-known for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger , Diamonds Are Forever , and Moonraker...
later coveredIn popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the song, as part of her "New York Medley", along with New York, New York (So Good They Named It Twice)"New York, New York " is a song performed and composed by singer-songwriter, Gerard Kenny in 1978. The song is an ode to his hometown, and state New York, New York....
. Bassey has also performed the song in concert.
- The rock band Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, exploration of music across genres, and devoted fan base. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983, the band's four members performed together for over 20 years until an official breakup in...
performed the song as part of their 1997 New Year's Eve celebration at
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
.
- Ska
Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band Reel Big FishReel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out." The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the album Turn the Radio Off...
covered Sinatra's New York, New York in 2002 a capella on their album Cheer Up!Cheer Up! is the fourth full length release from ska punk band, Reel Big Fish.It is a slight departure from the band's other releases, veering toward more of a rock sound as opposed to ska, especially on the first five tracks, where nary a syncopated drum beat or upstroke on the guitar is heard...
- A version of the song, credited as "New York", was recorded by Cat Power
Cat Power is the stage name of American singer/songwriter Chan Marshall . She is known for her minimalist style, sparse guitar and piano playing, and breathy vocals.-Biography:...
as the opening track of her 2008 album, JukeboxJukebox is the eighth album by American singer/songwriter Chan Marshall, also known by her stage name, Cat Power. It was released on January 22, 2008 on Matador Records...
.
- Anna Ternheim
Anna Ternheim is a Swedish singer-songwriter who performs in English.She released her debut album Somebody Outside in 2004...
included a version of the song on the bonus disc of her 2008 album Leaving on a Mayday (Limited Deluxe Edition)
- The song "New York, New York" is also played at every NYPD police academy graduation.
External links
- Present at the Creation (segment of NPR radio show Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 08:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
about the song)