20. New York City Blues - Sammy Davis Jr. & Count Basie

“You know they tell you its a great place to visit, but my heart tells me it’s a better place to live.” A jazzy, big-band tune all about making your way back to the Big Apple. “New York is my city.”

19. New York Groove - Ace Frehley

Back in the day, Ace would sneak out of his parent’s place in the middle of the night to go out for a show. Rumor has it, Ace’d leave pylons where his parent’s car was parked so that, when he got back in the early AM, the spot would still be there and his parents would be none the wiser. And this one speaks of his return to his hometown: “Many years since I was here … buildings towering to the sky … you better believe … I’m back in the New York groove.”

18. Bleeker Street - Simon & Garfunkel

I just love this song. And the amazing thing is that the best version was done by some no-name gal named Jonatha Brooke. A perfect blend of lyrics, melody and a Manhattan street with a helluva lot of personality. “Fog’s rolling in off the East River bank, like a shroud it covers Bleeker street … voices leaking from a sad cafe, smiling faces try to understand … a poet reads his crooked rhyme …” You get the idea…

17. New York New York - Grandmaster Flash

Rap was born on the streets of New York. And the grandaddy of old-school funk, fusion and rap was none other than the Grandmaster himself. This song takes a close look at the darker side of life in the big city. “Too much, too many people, too much.”

16. Lullabye of Broadway - Doris Day; 42nd St. OST; Liza Minelli; Frank Sinatra

As I was saying about Brodway. “The rumble of the subway train, the rattle of a taxi … Manhattan babies don’t sleep tight … until the dawn.” Such is night life in the city that never sleeps.

15. New York City Rhythm - Barry Manilow

“I spend my nights in the city lights … the pounding beat of the city streets … it’s got to be the New York city rhythm.” A glamour-filled 70s pseudo-disco song from the master of cheese himself. But this one fits the unabashed optimism and opportunity of NYC’s night life.

14. New York 9/11 - Dan Bern

I’m not ashamed to admit it. I cry everytime I listen to this song. The lyrics literally rip out my heart. “It was Indian Summer in New York, with an early morning sun. Tuesday, September 11, 2001 … the sky was blue and cloudless … a day so strangely perfect, but not dear God for long.” This song paints, then shatters, the picture-perfect morning that was 9/11 in New York. All with nothing but the somber, plodding of a weeping folk guitar. It celebrates the heroism and valor of New York’s Finest and New York’s Bravest. And ends with prohetic, “I pray we aren’t so frightened to let freedom find its end — the freedom that we desire so much to defend.” Running time for this song: 8:45. Think about it.

13. New York Times - Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens uses the blackout of 1977 to contrast lyrics which detail the dark, seedy side of NYC with upbeat music just as the reality of NYC contrasts the dark underside of the city with the glamour of Wall Street, Times Square and Broadway.

12. New York City - moe

This song is awesome. “It’s the rhythm of the rain that falls. It’s a cab ride at five a.m. Manhattan goddess with your Levis and curls … New York City I’m coming home again.” And who could argue against coming home to the greatest city on earth?

11. Miami 2017 - Billy Joel

“I watched the mighty skyline fall.” Written in 1976, and then immortalized during the Concert for New York City on October 20, 2001, no song could have been more prophetic or more appropriate. “Tell the world about, the way the lights went out, and keep the memory alive…” None of us will ever be the same again.

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