Theme from New York, New York

"Theme from New York, New York"
Song by Liza Minnelli from the album New York, New York
Released	June 21, 1977
Genre	Traditional pop
Length	3:16
Label	Capitol
Writer	Fred Ebb, John Kander
New York, New York track listing
"Bobby's Dream" (21) "Theme from New York, New York" (22) "Theme from New York, New York (Orchestral Reprise)" (23)

"New York, New York"
Single by Frank Sinatra
from the album Trilogy: Past Present Future
Released	1980
Format	7"
Recorded	1979
Genre	Jazz
Length	3:26
Label	Reprise
Writer(s)	Fred Ebb, John Kander
Producer	Sonny Burke
Frank Sinatra singles chronology
"Night and Day" (1977) "New York, New York" (1980) "You and Me (We Wanted It All)" (1980)

"Theme from New York, New York" (or "New York, New York") is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York (1977), composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed in the film by Liza Minnelli. It was suggested to him by Howard Huntridge, an English Television producer, during a meeting at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in 1977. The song has been embraced as a celebration of New York City, and is popular particularly at public social events in the city, lending it a quasi-status as the city's anthem.

History

In 1979, it was recorded by Frank Sinatra, for his album Trilogy: Past Present Future (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 Bennett for his 1993 album Duets.

The first line of the song is

Start spreadin' the news, I'm leaving 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'll 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.

It should not be confused with the song "New York, New York", from Leonard Bernstein/Adolph Green/Betty Comden'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 Biography episode about Liza Minnelli that they attribute the song's success to actor Robert De Niro, 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 Sinatra during his performances at Radio City Music Hall in October 1978. Subsequently, Sinatra recorded it in 1979 for his 1980 Trilogy set (Reprise Records), and it became one of his signature songs. The single peaked at #32 in June 1980, becoming his final Top Forty charting hit. 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). From the latter, an electronic duet with Tony Bennett 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").^[1] 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 (performed by Minnelli) were "king of the hill, head of the list, cream of the crop, at the top of the heap."

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 Liberty after extensive renovations, and in the middle of the seventh inning of a New York Mets game that was the first pro sports event in the metro area after the September 11, 2001 attacks. She also sang it in the Olympic stadium during the 1984 Summer Olympics, accompanied by 24 pianos and strobe lights.

In popular culture

• The song has been embraced as a celebration of New York City, 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 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. Sinatra's version is played after a Yankees win, and the Minnelli version after a loss.^[2] Though this rule was later changed due to complaints from fans and the Sinatra version is now heard after a win or a loss.
• As of the 2005 season, at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark following Staten Island Yankees games, the Sinatra version is 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 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 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.^[3]
• The song was the musical basis for Jimmy Picker's 1983 3-minute animated short, Sundae in New York which won the Academy Award 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!")^[4]
• Until 2010, the song had also been performed during the post parade of the Belmont Stakes horse race since 1997, either as an edit of the Sinatra version or a live trackside performance by singers such as Linda Eder or Ronan Tynan. 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. In 2010, this was replaced by Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind.^[5]
• An instrumental version of the song is used as the main theme music for NBC's broadcasts of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• The song is also played a few seconds after the ball drop in Times Square every New Year's, after "Auld Lang Syne".^[6]
• The theme from New York, New York has also been played during Columbia University and New York University commencements.
• In the Arrested Development episode "Queen for a Day", 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 bar heavily populated by drag queens.^[7]
• The song is featured in the film Gremlins 2, with Tony Randall singing as the Brain Gremlin.
• The song is sung by the characters Alex and Marty in the Dreamworks animated film Madagascar.
• The song is played after fireworks for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
• The song is played in the legal ID for WCBS-FM in New York.
• The song is very popular in foxtrot.
• The song is briefly sung by the glee club New Directions in the beginning of the Glee season 2 finale "New York".

Covers

• In 1982, José José recorded the song in Spanish.
• Queen recorded the song, and it was used in the soundtrack for the film Highlander. Queen's version was never released.
• Jeff Bridges imitates Sinatra singing it in "Starman".
• Sammy Davis Jr. performed the song in live shows
• Beyoncé Knowles covered the song in 2003.
• Shirley Bassey later covered the song, as part of her "New York Medley", along with New York, New York (So Good They Named It Twice). Bassey has also performed the song in concert.
• The rock band Phish performed the song as part of their 1997 New Year's Eve celebration at Madison Square Garden.
• Ska band Reel Big Fish covered Sinatra's New York, New York in 2002 a cappella on their album Cheer Up!
• A version of the song, credited as "New York", was recorded by Cat Power as the opening track of her 2008 album, Jukebox.
• Teri Hatcher covered some of the song in an episode of the hit television series, Desperate Housewives.
• Anna Ternheim 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.
• Martin Short sang a parody named "North Pole, North Pole" during the 2006 theatrical feature film The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
• Jacky Cheung covered the song in his Private Corner Mini-Concert in 2010.
• Chew Fu in 2007 remixed the track and is a favorite of many house DJ's.
• B.o.B. covered the song in the launch trailer for the video game Crysis 2, and an alternate version sung by Polly Scattergood in the Crysis 2 "The Wall" trailer.
• An instrumental adaptation of the song was used in a video for the New York 2012 Olympic Games bid.
• The Features did a cover for the 2010 PBS documentary Circus.^[8]
• Michael Bublé did a cover of this song, and played it in his concert in the Madison Square Garden .
• Devin Townsend recorded a cover for the heavy metal based Frank Sinatra tribute compilation, SIN-atra.

See also

New York City portal

• I Love L.A. by Randy Newman
• My Kind of Town, composed by Jimmy Van Heusen

References

1. ^ NPR : 'New York, New York', Present at the Creation
2. ^ Yankee Stadium
3. ^ Hockey Night in Canada: Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals (television). CBC. 1994-06-14. "And Bob (Cole), they're hollering out all the artillery just for you, Sinatra, before the opening faceoff. It can't get any better than that for an excitement standpoint."  Dick Irvin, Jr. told Bob Cole just before the opening faceoff when Sinatra's song was played over the PA system.
4. ^ Sundae in New York video
5. ^ Jay-Z's 'Empire State Of Mind' To Replace 'New York, New York' At Belmont Stakes
6. ^ Ball Drop 2011
7. ^ "Queen for a Day". Writer (Brad Copeland), Director (Andrew Fleming). Arrested Development. FOX. 23 January 2005. 9 minutes in.
8. ^ The Music of Circus

External links

• Present at the Creation (segment of NPR radio show Morning Edition about the song)