New York, New York, actually titled (“Theme from ‘New York, New York”) was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb - the songwriting team responsible for Cabaret and Chicago.

The song was written for the Martin Scorsese’s film New York, New York, his 1977 follow-up to Taxi Driver, starring Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro as a pair of young, striving musicians living in post-World War II New York.  Minnelli had a minor hit with the song, but the movie suffered from poor reviews.

Frank Sinatra was originally cool to the song since he didn’t want to deter the attention Minnelli received for the song. He had been close to her mother, Judy Garland, and treated Liza like a sassy daughter.  Eventually he embraced the song as he recognized the power it had from a male interpretation.

He first sang it in public in October 1978 during a charity event and then recorded it in 1979 for his album, “Trilogy: Past Present Future”.

Once he started performing the song live, it became a showstopper and the most requested song of his concerts.  Eventually the song became so popular that they moved it from the middle of the show to the coveted “closing” spot and eventually pushing “My Way” out of the shows.

Since 1980 the song has become a staple after the final out at every game at Yankee Stadium.

Various Sources