10 Best Songs With 'New York' In The Title

Feature Photo: The Everett Collection: Licensed From Shutterstock

This is not a “best songs about New York” article. We’ve already done that. This article focuses on our favorite songs that actually use the words New York in the title, and there is a huge difference between the two. Keeping it down to ten songs was brutal because there are so many great choices, so we leaned heavily toward artists with a real New York connection while still making room for a few records that were simply too good to leave out. We start with one of the most genuine New York rock and roll voices around, Willie Nile. And yes, I’m from New York, born and raised, bro, so give us a ring anytime you’re in town and we’ll hook you up with the best pizza and bagels in the city.

# 10 – “New York Is Rockin'” – Willie Nile

Willie Nile has long been one of rock and roll’s great New York voices, and “New York Is Rockin'” sounds like a celebration made for the city streets. The song appeared on his 2020 album New York at Night, released on May 15, 2020. Nile and Stewart Lerman co-produced the album at Hobo Sound in Weehawken, New Jersey. Nile’s longtime band included Johnny Pisano on bass, Matt Hogan and Jimi K. Bones on guitars, and Jon Weber on drums, with additional musicians appearing across the record. The song carries the grit, motion, humor, and optimism that have always made Nile such a natural chronicler of New York life. It is a loud, joyful reminder that whatever the city goes through, New York keeps rockin’.

Read More: Top 10 Willie Nile Songs

# 9 – NYC Man – Lou Reed

“NYC Man” is pure Lou Reed, tough, literary, personal, and inseparable from the city that shaped so much of his work. The song originally appeared on Reed’s 1996 album Set the Twilight Reeling, years before it became the title track of the 2003 compilation NYC Man: The Ultimate Collection 1967-2003. Reed produced the album and recorded most of it at the Magic Shop in New York City. Fernando Saunders contributes bass and acoustic guitar on “NYC Man,” Tony “Thunder” Smith plays drums, and Oliver Lake, J.D. Parran, and Russell Gunn provide the horns. The arrangement is direct enough to keep Reed’s voice at the center while still giving the song a broad New York sound. Few artists ever sounded more completely at home in their own city than Lou Reed does here.

Read More: Top 10 Lou Reed Songs

# 8 – New York City Rhythm – Barry Manilow

“New York City Rhythm” captures the pulse of the city through Barry Manilow’s unmistakable mix of pop, jazz, and showmanship. Manilow wrote the music with lyrics by longtime collaborator Marty Panzer, and the song appeared on the 1975 album Tryin’ to Get the Feeling. Manilow and Ron Dante produced the recording during sessions associated with Mediasound Studios in New York and Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. Manilow’s piano and vocal sit at the center of an arrangement built to move with the pace of city life. The song understands both the excitement and loneliness that can exist within the same New York night. It remains one of Manilow’s strongest musical portraits of his hometown.

Read More: Top 10 Barry Manilow Songs

# 7 – New York Groove – Ace Frehley

“New York Groove” gave Ace Frehley the perfect song to celebrate his hometown when the four members of Kiss released solo albums in 1978. Russ Ballard wrote the song, and the British glam band Hello had recorded it several years earlier. Frehley’s version was recorded at Plaza Sound in New York City and co-produced by Frehley and Eddie Kramer. Its stomping beat, handclaps, and simple guitar-driven arrangement give the record the kind of swagger the title demands. The song became the standout hit from the four Kiss solo albums and one of Frehley’s signature recordings. Decades later, it still sounds like someone stepping onto a New York street and immediately feeling ten feet tall.

# 6 – New York City (You’re a Woman) – Al Kooper

“New York City (You’re a Woman)” by Al Kooper is not a simple celebration of the city, and that is exactly what makes it so compelling. Released in 1971 as the title track of New York City (You’re a Woman), the song treats New York like a complicated relationship that can inspire and punish you at the same time. Kooper produced and engineered the album while contributing vocals, guitar, piano, organ, Mellotron, and other keyboards across the record. The album brought together an extensive cast of musicians, including Herbie Flowers, Carol Kaye, Caleb Quaye, Roger Pope, Paul Humphrey, Bobbye Hall, and others. Kooper’s performance gives the title song a weary, soulful quality that feels lived-in rather than romanticized. Anyone who has loved New York while occasionally wanting to scream at it can understand exactly where this record is coming from.

Read More: Top 10 Al Kooper Songs

# 5 – A Heart In New York – Art Garfunkel

Art Garfunkel’s rendition of “A Heart in New York” is one of the gentlest and most beautiful New York songs on this list. Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle wrote the song, and Garfunkel recorded it for his 1981 album Scissors Cut. Roy Halee produced the album, which was recorded between late 1980 and 1981 in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Garfunkel’s unmistakable tenor gives the song a sense of wonder and distance, as if the city is being seen from both inside and far away at the same time. He also performed it during Simon & Garfunkel’s legendary Concert in Central Park in September 1981, giving the song an even stronger connection to the city. It remains a graceful counterpoint to the louder, tougher New York records surrounding it on this list.

Read More: Top 10 Art Garfunkel Songs

# 4 – Theme From New York, New York – Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra’s “Theme from New York, New York” became so completely identified with the city that it can be difficult to remember the song was originally written by John Kander and Fred Ebb for Liza Minnelli in Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film New York, New York. Sinatra recorded the familiar studio version on September 19, 1979, in Los Angeles for Trilogy: Past Present Future. Sonny Burke produced the session, Don Costa arranged the song, and Vinnie Falcone conducted. Released as a single in 1980, Sinatra’s recording reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song’s booming orchestration and Sinatra’s commanding delivery transformed it into something far beyond a movie theme. For millions of people around the world, those opening notes simply mean New York.

Read More: Top 10 Frank Sinatra Songs

# 3 – New York State Of Mind – Billy Joel

Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” is one of the most personal New York songs ever written, built around the feeling of coming home after spending years in California. The song appeared on Joel’s 1976 album Turnstiles, which he produced himself after returning to New York. The original recording was made at Ultra Sonic Studios in Hempstead, with Joel on piano and vocals, Doug Stegmeyer on bass, Liberty DeVitto on drums, Richie Cannata on saxophone, and Ken Ascher providing the orchestral arrangement. Unlike many of Joel’s biggest songs, “New York State of Mind” was never released as a single when the album first appeared. It became a standard anyway, covered by artists including Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett and performed countless times by Joel himself. Sinatra gave New York its grand anthem, but Joel gave New Yorkers a song that feels like coming home.

Read More: Top 10 Billy Joel Albums

# 2 – New York Minute – Don Henley

Don Henley’s “New York Minute” uses the city less as a celebration than as a setting for how quickly a life can change. Henley wrote the song with Danny Kortchmar and Jai Winding for his 1989 album The End of the Innocence. Henley and Kortchmar produced the recording, with Jeff Porcaro on drums, Pino Palladino on fretless bass, David Paich on piano, Jai Winding on keyboards, and Take 6 on background vocals. The slow, dramatic arrangement gives every line room to land while the city remains an almost cinematic presence behind the story. Unlike the triumphant New York songs elsewhere on this list, this one understands how frightening the speed of the city can feel when everything changes at once. It is one of Henley’s strongest recordings and one of the darkest New York songs ever to reach mainstream rock audiences.

Read More: Top 10 Don Henley Songs

# 1 – New York Skyline – Garland Jeffreys

“New York Skyline” closes this list because this song has always meant something personal to me. I first heard it when I bought Ghost Writer in 1977, and that record inspired me as both a musician and songwriter. Many years later, I met Garland Jeffreys when I lent him my piano for a gig at a small concert hall on Long Island, where I was the house pianist warming up audiences for various shows. I will never forget Garland performing “New York Skyline” a cappella that evening, without a microphone or musical accompaniment, because his voice filled the room with an incredible emotional power. The studio recording features Anthony Jackson on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, Alan Freedman on guitar, David Spinozza on acoustic guitar, Don Grolnick on electric piano, Al Cohn on saxophone, and Rubens Bassini on percussion. Jeffreys and David Spinozza produced Ghost Writer, which was recorded at Atlantic Studios and released in 1977. There are plenty of more famous New York songs, but few have ever felt more deeply connected to the city for me than “New York Skyline.”