Everyone thinks they know this song. You hear those first few brassy notes and you immediately picture a guy in a tuxedo, maybe holding a glass of bourbon, leaning into a microphone with that signature swagger. Frank Sinatra owns "New York, New York" in the public imagination. It’s the anthem played at Yankee Stadium. It’s the karaoke go-to for every guy who thinks he’s a crooner.
But here’s the thing: it isn't his.
The New York New York song Liza Minnelli originally made famous was actually written specifically for her. If you’ve only ever heard the Sinatra version, you’re missing the grit, the desperation, and the raw theatricality that John Kander and Fred Ebb intended when they penned it for Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film of the same name.
The day Robert De Niro rejected a masterpiece
The story of how this song came to be is kinda wild. Kander and Ebb were already legends. They’d done Cabaret. They’d done Chicago. They were the guys you went to when you wanted a song that felt like a punch to the gut wrapped in a sequined glove.
So, Scorsese asks them to write the title track for his new movie. They go away, they work, and they come back with a song. They play it for the director, for Liza, and for Robert De Niro.
De Niro didn't like it.
Honestly, imagine being the guy who tells Kander and Ebb their song is "too weak." But De Niro, who was playing an ego-driven saxophonist named Jimmy Doyle, felt the song didn't match the character’s drive. He pulled Scorsese aside and told him the song needed to be stronger.
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Kander and Ebb were livid. They were professionals, and here was this "actor" telling them how to do their jobs. In a fit of sheer professional spite, they went into another room and "banged out" a replacement in a very short time. That "spite song" turned out to be the legendary theme we know today.
Kander later admitted that De Niro was absolutely right. The second version was better. It had that famous vamp—those repeating notes that sound like a heart beating or a city waking up—and it had a much more aggressive edge.
Why Liza’s version feels so different
When you listen to the New York New York song Liza Minnelli recording, it’s not just a celebration. In the context of the movie, it’s a finale. Her character, Francine Evans, has finally "made it." She’s a star, but she’s also a woman who has survived a toxic, imploding relationship.
Liza doesn't just sing it; she belts it like her life depends on it.
- The Lyrics: Sinatra changed a few things. Liza sings, "I'll make a brand new start of it," whereas Frank often went with "I'm gonna make a brand new start of it."
- The Ending: This is the big one. Most people know the "Top of the heap" line, but Liza's original closing is: "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere. Come on, come through, New York, New York!"
- The Emotional Weight: Sinatra's version is about a guy who has already won. Liza’s version is about a woman who is currently winning but still remembers the bruises.
There’s a specific performance from 1986 that basically defines the song. It was the rededication of the Statue of Liberty. Liza stepped out in a red beaded Halston jumpsuit—very 80s, very iconic—and performed for a packed football stadium.
She did this thing where she seemingly finished the song, let the applause wash over her, and then waved it off and dove right back into the bridge. It’s one of those rare moments where a performer exerts total control over 60,000 people. You can find the clip on YouTube, and honestly, the vocal gymnastics she does on that second-to-last "York" is something few singers today could even attempt.
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The Yankee Stadium drama
For years, the New York Yankees had a weird tradition. If they won the game, they played Frank Sinatra’s version. If they lost, they played Liza Minnelli’s version.
Kinda rude, right?
Liza eventually caught wind of this. She reportedly told the Yankees management that they either had to play her version after a win or not play it at all. She wasn't going to be the "consolation prize" for a losing team. Since 2001, the Yankees have mostly stuck to the Sinatra version, but the story serves as a reminder of how protective she was of her signature tune.
She often called Sinatra "Uncle Frank." They were close—she’d known him her entire life because of her parents, Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli. She would often tease him that he was getting famous off her song. They even performed it as a duet a few times, which is probably the ultimate version of the track if you can find the recordings from their 1980s tours.
It’s not the only "New York, New York"
Just to make things confusing, there’s another famous song with the exact same title. It’s from the 1944 musical On the Town. You know the one: "New York, New York, a helluva town! The Bronx is up but the Battery's down!"
That one was written by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. It’s a great song, but it’s a completely different vibe—three sailors on 24-hour leave looking for fun. Interestingly, Frank Sinatra actually sang that one too in the 1949 film version.
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But when people talk about the "anthem," they mean the Kander and Ebb song. The one that starts with that slow, building tension and ends with a brass explosion.
The legacy of the 1977 flop
The movie New York, New York was actually a bit of a disaster when it first came out. It was Scorsese trying to mix his gritty, realistic style with the artifice of a 1940s MGM musical. Critics didn't get it. Audiences stayed away.
But the song lived on.
It’s one of those rare instances where the theme song completely eclipsed the film it was written for. In 1980, Sinatra recorded it for his album Trilogy: Past Present Future, and that's when it went into the stratosphere. It became his final Top 40 hit and cemented the song as a global standard.
Why the Liza version is still the "Expert's Choice"
If you want to understand the soul of the song, you have to go back to the original soundtrack. Ralph Burns did the arrangements, and he captured a very specific post-WWII big band sound that feels more authentic than the polished, Vegas-style orchestration of the Sinatra covers.
Liza’s voice has a vibrato and a "theatre crack" that communicates the vulnerability of the lyrics. When she sings about those "vagabond shoes," you actually believe she’s been walking in them.
How to experience the song the right way:
- Watch the finale of the film: Don't just listen to the audio. Watch the way Scorsese directs the scene. Liza is on stage, isolated in a spotlight, and the camera stays on her. It shows the loneliness of success.
- Find the 1986 Liberty Weekend footage: It's the peak of her vocal power. It’s less about "New York the city" and more about "Liza the force of nature."
- Compare the lyrics: Pay attention to the "Come on, come through" line at the end of her version. It’s a plea to the city itself to let her in, whereas Sinatra’s version sounds like he’s already bought the building.
If you’re a fan of musical history or just want a deeper appreciation for the classics, spend some time with the 1977 soundtrack. It’s a reminder that before it was a stadium anthem, it was a piece of character work by one of the greatest performers to ever take the stage.