"Native New Yorker" is a disco song written by

Sandy Linzer Sandy Linzer (born 1941) 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 ...

and

Denny Randell Denny Randell (born 1941) 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 O ...

. It was first recorded in 1977 by

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

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 The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. disco chart. Odyssey's "Native New Yorker" also went to No. 6 on the soul chart and No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It reached No. 5 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The group recorded the song at House of Music, a private recording studio on Pleasant Valley Way 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 The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

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 Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...

in 1978, and

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

in 1998. It was later sampled by

Rich Cronin Richard Burton Cronin (August 30, 1974September 8, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and rapper, best known for being the lead singer and primary songwriter for the pop and hip hop group LFO. Early life and education Cronin was born in ...

'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 Ronald Michael Carroll is an American DJ, singer, songwriter and producer. He is primarily known in the house music circuit. Carroll has worked with many of house's most famous producers, including E-Smoove, Maurice Joshua and Bob Sinclar. H ...

, entitled "My Love". The

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

solo on Odyssey's recording is played by

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

. George Young was part of the horn section, where he played

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

Chart history

In popular culture

The song is featured in an episode of ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

'', "That's Entertainment, Evans Style" (1978), as well as the films ''

Eyes of Laura Mars ''Eyes of Laura Mars'' is a 1978 American neo noir mystery-thriller film starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones and directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay was adapted (in collaboration with David Zelag Goodman) from a spec script titled '' ...

'' (1978); '' 54'' (1998); ''

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints ''A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'' is a 2006 American drama film based on a 2001 memoir of the same name by author, director, and musician Dito Montiel, which describes his youth in Astoria, New York during the 1980s. Montiel wrote and directed ...

'' (2006); ''

The Nanny Diaries ''The Nanny Diaries'' is a 2002 novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, both of whom are former nannies. The book satirizes upper-class Manhattan society as seen through the eyes of their children's caregivers. Writing The writers were studen ...

'' (2007), a commercial for ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' (2014), 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 Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

pageant in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

; it is typically played during lead-in segments of ''

Good Day New York ''Good Day New York'' is a morning show airing on WNYW Fox 5 (channel 5), hosted by Rosanna Scotto and Bianca Peters. It is a Fox owned-and-operated television station in New York City, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Cor ...

''. The song opens the 3rd episode of the 3rd series

Pose Human positions refer to the different physical configurations that the human body can take. There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning. *''Position'' is a gen ...

(2021) entitled "The Trunk". "Native New Yorker" is played after every

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

soccer game at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

. Television personality

Wendy Williams Wendy Williams Hunter ( Wendy Joan Williams; born July 18, 1964) is an American broadcaster and writer. From 2008 to 2021, she hosted the nationally syndicated television talk show ''The Wendy Williams Show.'' Prior to television, Williams ...

(as 'Lips') performed a rendition of the song on the fourth season of the American TV series ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. Following her performance, multiple memes and reenactments were created.

References

External links

* (Frankie Valli) * (Odyssey) {{authority control 1977 singles RCA Victor singles Songs about New York City Songs written by Sandy Linzer 1977 songs Songs written by Denny Randell Odyssey (band) songs Frankie Valli songs