New York Groove

"New York Groove"
Single by Ace Frehley
from the album Ace Frehley
Released September 1978 (US)
Format 7"
Recorded Plaza Sound Studios,
New York City: 1978
Genre Rock
Length 3:01
Label Casablanca NB-941 (US)
Songwriter(s) Russ Ballard
Producer(s) Eddie Kramer and Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley singles chronology
"Radioactive" / "See You In Your Dreams"
(1978)		 "New York Groove" / "Snow Blind"
(1978)		 "Don't You Let Me Down"
(1978)

"Radioactive" / "See You In Your Dreams"
(1978)		 "New York Groove" / "Snow Blind"
(1978)		 "Don't You Let Me Down"
(1978)

"New York Groove" is a song written by English singer/songwriter Russ Ballard, which was a hit for two different artists: the band Hello in 1975, and Ace Frehley in 1978.

Hello version

The British glam rock band Hello first recorded the song in 1975, for their debut album, Keeps Us Off the Streets.

The song was a number nine hit in the UK,[1] and subsequently reached number seven in Germany.

Ace Frehley version

Ace Frehley, best known as the lead guitarist of Kiss, recorded "New York Groove" for his first solo album, Ace Frehley, released in 1978; the album was released concurrently with solo albums from the other three Kiss members. Released as a single, the song made it to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 late that year,[2] by far the highest charting single from any of the four solo albums. Frehley once told Rolling Stone magazine that his unique take on the song was inspired by his experience with hookers in New York City's Times Square in the 1970s.

"New York Groove" was performed on Kiss's tours of 1979 and 1980, and became a staple of Frehley's shows during his solo tours in the 1980s and 90s, and again during the Reunion Tour when he rejoined Kiss in 1996.

A live version of the song can be found on the Japanese version of the 1996 Kiss album You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! (and the U.S. vinyl version) recorded in Sydney, Australia in 1980, which would also make it one of the few live recordings released by the group to feature longtime drummer Eric Carr.

Studio personnel

  • Ace Frehley - all guitars, lead vocals
  • Anton Fig - drums, percussion
  • David Lasley, Don Yowell and Susan Collins - backing vocals
  • Bobby McAdams – power mouth (talk box)

Chart history

Hello original
Chart (1975) Peak
position
Germany 7
Ireland (IRMA)[3] 6
UK [4] 9
Ace Frehley cover

Other versions

"New York Groove" is the opening track on the 2012 Sweet album New York Connection. This version fuses Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' song "Empire State of Mind" (another ode to New York city), into the chorus.[12]

Soundtrack appearances

The Ace Frehley recording appears in the following films:

"New York Groove" has also been used on television:

  • It was played at the end of the 10th episode of season 4 of the TV show Entourage.
  • The Ace Frehley recording was played in the 12th episode of season 3 of the TV show Californication.
  • It was the opening theme for the first two seasons of the American cable television reality series NY Ink.
  • It has been played on USA Network in a promo for the series White Collar.
  • It was played in the 8th episode of season 5 of the HBO TV show Girls as Hannah Horvath and her boyfriend Fran leave New York in an RV.
  • It was the opening theme for NBC's The Blacklist Season 5, Episode 1.
  • It was used during WWE's Wrestlemania 34 as the official promotional theme for the upcoming Wrestlemania 35.

AT&T also used the Hello version of "New York Groove" in a 2012 commercial.

The Hello version is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV on the in-game radio station Liberty Rock Radio, as well as being one of four songs to play during the end credits after the games theme played.

The Ace Frehley version was among songs proposed by James Gunn for use with the Guardians of the Galaxy in Avengers: Infinity War. In a deleted scene, Star-Lord and Drax argue about the song.

Other uses

The New York Giants use "New York Groove" at home games after scoring a touchdown as well as Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.

A sample of the song's main riff and rhythm (1975 Hello version) was used by the Argentine rock band Soda Stereo for their song "Zoom" from the album Sueño Stereo in 1995. The lyrics for "Zoom" were written by Gustavo Cerati.

The Iona Gaels (since 2005), New York Mets (since 2015) and New York City Football Club (since 2016) use "New York Groove" after winning home games.

The song has been used as the background promotional music for the 2014 and 2015 TCS New York City Marathons.

Stephen King uses the song as the title to a chapter in Wolves of the Calla, book V of his dark fantasy The Dark Tower series, where the characters Jake Chambers and Eddie Dean briefly return to New York City by means of magical muffinballs, and the characters also allude to the song in free indirect speech. As Jake was "drawn" into the world of the Dark Tower from the NYC of 1977, he is most likely referring to the Hello version.

The film Golden Exits (2017) begins with a character singing the song.

Ace Frehley performed the song live at the beginning of the 2018 NHL Winter Classic between the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers at Citi Field in New York City. The song was played as the Sabres and Rangers took the ice.

References

  1. ↑ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1975-10-18. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  2. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  3. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – New York Groove". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1975-10-18. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  5. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1979-02-17. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  6. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1978-02-17. Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ↑ Flavour of New Zealand, 25 February 1979
  8. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  10. ↑ "Top 100 Singles (1979)". RPM (magazine). Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  11. ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
  12. ↑ "Sweet Return With New Album 'New York Connection'". February 5, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
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