Theme from New York, New York, commonly known as New York, New York, is the theme song from the 1977 Martin Scorsese film New York, New York. It was written by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and performed by Liza Minnelli in the film’s finale, released as a single on June 21, 1977 from the album New York, New York. The tune blends swing, show tune, and jazz, and it was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. In 1980 Frank Sinatra released a landmark cover on the album Trilogy: Past Present Future, which helped cement the song as his signature closer and a New York City anthem. Sinatra’s version reached number 32 on the US charts and number 10 on the US Adult Contemporary chart, with strong showings in Canada and later in the UK; Don Costa produced the arrangement and Sinatra even tweaked Ebb’s closing lyrics during recording. The song has become closely identified with New York City and is frequently heard at sports events and in popular culture; Sinatra’s recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013. An anecdote from the film’s production notes that Robert De Niro initially rejected the original theme as too weak, leading to the rapid creation of the final song.
