Released September 1978 (US) Genre Rock Label Casablanca NB-941 (US) | Format 7" Length 3:01 | |
Recorded Plaza Sound Studios,
New York City: 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.
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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, 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, 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.
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.
Soundtrack appearances
The Ace Frehley recording appears in the following films:
"New York Groove" has also been used on television:
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.
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.
The melody of the song inspired Argentine rock band Soda Stereo for writing the song "Zoom" for the album Sueño Stereo in 1995.
The Iona Gaels (since 2005) and New York Mets (since 2015) 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.