"Native New Yorker" | |
---|---|
Single by Odyssey | |
from the album Odyssey | |
B-side | "Ever Lovin' Sam" |
Released | November 1977 |
Recorded | 1977 House of Music, West Orange, New Jersey |
Genre | Disco [1] [2] |
Length | 3:29 5:35 (Disco Version) |
Label | RCA Victor |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
|
Official audio | |
"Native New Yorker" on YouTube |
"Native New Yorker" is a disco song written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell. It was first recorded in 1977 by Frankie Valli and released on his album Lady Put the Light Out . Later in 1977, the song became a hit single for the soul dance band Odyssey, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. disco chart. [1] Odyssey's "Native New Yorker" also went to No. 6 on the soul chart and No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. [3] It reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. [4]
The group recorded the song at House of Music in West Orange, New Jersey. Jeffrey Kawalek was the recording and mix engineer. Richard Tee played its signature piano track. Jim Bonnefond assisted on many sessions. Studio owner Charlie Conrad did additional engineering, and added additional instrumental solos to the original mixes to create extended dance versions. Sandy Linzer added Tommy Mandel on clavinet and played hair drum himself on the mix that would be released as a single, engineered by Billy Radice at Olmstead studios in New York City.
"Native New Yorker" was also recorded by Esther Phillips in 1978, and Black Box in 1998.
It was later sampled by Rich Cronin's band, Loose Cannons, for their song "New York City Girls", as well as by the house music group, Kluster, in their song featuring Ron Carroll, entitled "My Love".
The tenor saxophone solo on Odyssey's recording is played by Michael Brecker. [5] George Young was part of the horn section, where he played alto sax. [6]
Chart (1977–1978) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada RPM Top Singles | 13 |
Ireland (IRMA) [7] | 7 |
New Zealand (RIANZ) [8] | 15 |
UK Singles (OCC) [4] | 5 |
U.S. Cashbox Top 100 | 15 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 21 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 3 |
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 28 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles | 6 |
The song is featured in an episode of Good Times , "That's Entertainment, Evans Style" (1978), as well as the films Eyes of Laura Mars (1978); The Stud (1978); 54 (1998); A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006); The Nanny Diaries (2007), a commercial for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014), Colin Quinn: The New York Story (2016), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). It also served as background music towards the end of the preliminary swimsuit segment of the 1981 Miss Universe pageant in New York City; it is typically played during lead-in segments of Good Day New York . The song opens the 3rd episode of season 3 of Pose (2021) entitled "The Trunk". [9]
"Native New Yorker" is played after every New York City FC soccer game at Yankee Stadium. [10]
Television personality Wendy Williams (as 'Lips') performed a rendition of the song on the fourth season of the American TV series The Masked Singer . Following her performance, multiple memes and reenactments were created. [11]
The Four Seasons is an American vocal quartet formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The band evolved out of a previous band called The Four Lovers, with Frankie Valli as the lead singer, Bob Gaudio on keyboards and tenor vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone vocals, and Nick Massi on bass guitar and bass vocals. On nearly all of their 1960s hits, they were credited as The 4 Seasons. The band had two distinct lineups that achieved widespread success: the original featuring Valli, Gaudio, DeVito, and Massi that recorded hits throughout the 1960s, and a 1970s quintet consisting of Valli, Lee Shapiro, Gerry Polci, Don Ciccone, and John Paiva, with Gaudio and Long providing studio support.
Charles Calello is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track record of successfully collaborating with various artists to produce or arrange Billboard hit songs led to his nickname in the industry as the "Hit Man."
Sandy Linzer is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Denny Randell and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let's Hang On!", "Working My Way Back to You", "Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache", "Native New Yorker", and "Use It Up and Wear It Out". He was nominated with Randell for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) in 2012.
Denny Randell is an American songwriter and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Sandy Linzer and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let's Hang On!", "Working My Way Back to You", and "Native New Yorker", and was nominated with Linzer for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) in 2012.
"December, 1963 " is a song originally performed by the Four Seasons, written by original Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group's album Who Loves You (1975).
Robert Stanley Crewe was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons.
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, and first recorded and released as a single by Gaudio's Four Seasons bandmate Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, making it Valli's biggest solo hit until he hit No. 1 in 1975 with "My Eyes Adored You".
"Our Day Will Come" is a popular song composed by Mort Garson with lyrics by Bob Hilliard. It was recorded by American R&B group Ruby & the Romantics in early December 1962, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Working My Way Back to You" is a song made popular by the Four Seasons in 1966 and the Spinners in 1980.
"Use It Up and Wear It Out" is a song by US-based dance and soul group Odyssey that was released as a single in 1980. It was originally released as the B-side of "Don't Tell Me, Tell Her". When it was re-released as the A-side it would go on to spend twelve weeks on the UK Singles Chart, including two at No. 1, but failed to make commercial success in the United States.
"My Eyes Adored You" is a 1974 song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the Motown label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to lead singer Frankie Valli for $4000. After rejections by Capitol and Atlantic Records, Valli succeeded in getting the recording released on Private Stock Records, but the owner/founder of the label, Larry Uttal, wanted only Valli's name on the label. It is from the album Closeup. The single was released in the US in November 1974 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975. "My Eyes Adored You" also went to number 2 on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1975.
"Grease" is a song written by Barry Gibb and recorded by Frankie Valli : it was released as a single in May 1978. It is the title song for the musical motion picture Grease of that year, which was in turn based on the 1971 stage play Grease. The song celebrates the greaser lifestyle, and it sold over seven million copies worldwide and appeared twice on the film's soundtrack, first as the opening track and again as the closing track. "Grease" is one of four songs written specifically for the film that had not been in the stage production.
"Who Loves You" is the title song of a 1975 album by The Four Seasons. It was composed by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975.
"Let's Hang On!" is a song composed by Bob Crewe, Sandy Linzer, and Denny Randell that was popularized by the Four Seasons in 1965.
"Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me)" is a song composed by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell and recorded by The Four Seasons in 1966 for their album Working My Way Back to You.
"Dance (Disco Heat)" is a song by American singer Sylvester. The song appears on his 1978 album Step II and features backing vocals by Two Tons O' Fun.
"I Need You" is a song written by Eric Carmen. Versions by Euclid Beach Band (1979) and then 3T (1996) were released as singles.
"Bon Bon Vie (Gimme the Good Life)" is a single by American band T. S. Monk, released in August 1980 on Mirage Records. It was arranged by band leader Thelonious Monk, Jr. and written by songwriter Lawrence Russell Brown and producer Sandy Linzer. The song has a rhythmic style and lyrics about aspiring to a rich lifestyle.
"Darlin'" is a song written in 1970 by English sax player Oscar Stewart Blandamer. It was first released under the title "Darling" by the British country band Poacher in 1978. It was later a chart hit for Frankie Miller and David Rogers. The track was subsequently recorded by numerous artists including Tom Jones, Barbara Mandrell, Smokie and Johnny Reid.
Lady Put the Light Out is an album by Frankie Valli, released in November 1977. It was his final album for Private Stock Records, which folded in early 1978.
One of the best one-off disco hits ever recorded, with a sophisticated air and a somewhat jaded undertone.