Theme from New York, New York Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids "Theme from 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)
Released	June 21, 1977
Genre	swing, Broadway, Jazz
Length	3:16
Label	United 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"

Released

April 1980

Recorded

September 19, 1979

Genre

Jazz

Length

3:26

Label

Reprise

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)

The song "Theme from New York, New York" is often just called "New York, New York". It is the main song from the 1977 musical film New York, New York. John Kander wrote the music, and Fred Ebb wrote the words.

The famous singer Liza Minnelli sang the song in the movie. It was even nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. A few years later, Frank Sinatra sang his own version. His version became very famous and is now strongly linked to both him and New York City.

How the Song Was Made
- Frank Sinatra's Famous Version
Song Lyrics
Song's Impact and Legacy
Funny Versions (Parodies)
Images for kids
See also

How the Song Was Made

The creators of the song, John Kander and Fred Ebb, said the song became a hit thanks to actor Robert De Niro. He was one of the stars of the movie. Kander and Ebb had written an earlier song for the film, but De Niro thought it was "too weak."

They played their songs for the director Martin Scorsese, Liza Minnelli, and De Niro. After hearing them, De Niro told Scorsese that the main song needed to be much stronger.

The opening music of the song.

The first version of the song had different words and music. It started with the line, "They always say it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here." Kander and Ebb quickly wrote the new, stronger song. They created the famous opening music, which repeats a short musical idea. Liza Minnelli's performance was released as a single record.

Frank Sinatra's Famous Version

Frank Military, who worked with Frank Sinatra, suggested the song to him. Sinatra's pianist, Vinnie Falcone, got the music. In 1978, Sinatra started singing "New York, New York" in his shows. He often combined it with another song called "New York, New York" from the movie On the Town.

Sinatra hired a musician named Don Costa to create a special opening for his shows. This opening mixed "Autumn in New York", "The Sidewalks of New York", and "Theme from New York, New York." Audiences loved "New York, New York" so much that Sinatra started moving it later in his performances. Soon, it became the last song he sang at his concerts, replacing his other famous song, "My Way".

Sinatra recorded the song for his album Trilogy: Past Present Future in 1980. It quickly became one of his most recognized songs. Don Costa was even nominated for a Grammy award for his amazing music arrangement. Sometimes, Sinatra and Liza Minnelli would sing the song together. Minnelli called him "Uncle Frank" because she had known him her whole life. She would joke that the song was written for her, even though it became his signature tune.

Sinatra's recording reached number 32 on the music charts in June 1980. It was his last song to make it into the Top 40 hits. It also did well on the Adult Contemporary charts, reaching number 10 in the US and number 2 in Canada. In Mexico, it was number 1 for a few weeks in 1981. The song also became popular in the UK, reaching number 4 in 1986. Sinatra's version was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.

Sinatra recorded the song two more times: in 1981 for a TV special and in 1993 for an album called Duets. On the Duets album, his recording was mixed with Tony Bennett's voice to create a duet.

Song Lyrics

The song starts with these famous lines:

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

The song ends with a powerful message:

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

Liza Minnelli's original recording, and the version with Tony Bennett, had a slightly different ending:

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

Frank Sinatra changed some of the words when he recorded his version. For example, Fred Ebb's original lyrics listed "king of the hill, head of the list, cream of the crop, and the top of the heap." Sinatra sang "A-number-one, top of the list, king of the hill, A-number-one." Fred Ebb didn't love the change, but he was very thankful to Sinatra for making the song such a huge hit.

Song's Impact and Legacy

"New York, New York" has become a symbol of New York City. You can often hear it at parties and events in the city. Many New York sports teams play this song in their stadiums. The New York Yankees baseball team is a great example. They have played the song at the end of every home game since 1980.

At first, the Yankees played Sinatra's version after a win and Minnelli's version after a loss.
Liza Minnelli complained about this, so now only Sinatra's version is played, no matter the game's result.

In the mid-1980s, the song was used in commercials for Kraft's Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

The director Russell Mulcahy asked Freddie Mercury, the singer from the band Queen, to record "New York, New York" for the movie Highlander. Freddie Mercury sang a short 30-second part that appears in the film.

Liza Minnelli sang the song live on July 4, 1986. This was during the celebration for the Statue of Liberty after it had been repaired.

Minnelli also sang it on September 21, 2001, at Shea Stadium. This was during a baseball game, the first one in New York after the attacks on the World Trade Center. This game is famously known as the "9/11 game."

In 2004, "New York, New York" was ranked number 31 on a list of the top 100 songs in American movies.

In 2013, Frank Sinatra's 1979 recording of the song was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. This means it is recognized as a very important and classic recording.

The song was also the basis for a short animated film called Sundae in New York in 1983. This film won an Oscar. It featured a clay version of the mayor of New York at the time, Ed Koch, singing the song.

Funny Versions (Parodies)

Many people have made funny versions, or parodies, of "New York, New York":

A Swedish comedy group made a version called "Borås, Borås" in 1985, about a city in Sweden.
Actor Martin Short sang "North Pole, North Pole" in the 2006 movie The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
Stephen Colbert sang a parody on his TV show in 2014. It made fun of a bet between the governors of New York and California about a hockey game.
The wrestling team The New Day sang a parody on WWE Raw in 2015.
The YouTube puppet show Glove and Boots made a parody in 2015. It was a more cynical take on modern New York City, talking about things like rising costs.
An episode of The Simpsons called "Dancin' Homer" featured a parody called "Capital City," sung by Tony Bennett.
A common parody sung at kindergarten graduations is "First Grade, First Grade."