The Boy from New York City explained

The Boy from New York City
Cover:The Boy from New York City Ad Libs.jpg
Type:single
Artist:The Ad Libs
B-Side:Kicked Around
Released:December 1964
Recorded:1964
Genre:Soul, doo wop
Label:Blue Cat
Producer:Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
Next Title:I'm Just a Down Home Girl
Next Year:1965

"The Boy from New York City" is a song originally recorded by the American soul group The Ad Libs,[1] released in 1964 as their first single. Produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the song peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the chart week of February 27, 1965. Though the group continued to record other singles, they never repeated the chart success of "The Boy from New York City". According to Artie Butler, the track was recorded at A&R Studios in New York, in three separate sessions. The first session was to lay down the rhythm section, then the next session was for the lead and backup vocals, with the last session was just for the horns.

Track listing

Personnel

Chart history

Weekly charts
Chart (1965)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[2] 8
US Cash Box Top 100[3] 10
Canada RPM [4] 2
Year-end charts

Influence on The Beach Boys

In 1965, The Beach Boys recorded an answer song to "The Boy From New York City" titled "The Girl From New York City" for their album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).[6] The following year Beach Boys songwriter and arranger Brian Wilson took further inspiration from the rhythm of the original Ad Libs song in conceiving a new R&B-inflected composition that would eventually become “Good Vibrations.”[7]

Cover versions

The song was later covered by Darts and The Manhattan Transfer, both becoming chart hits in the UK and US respectively. Darts peaked at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1978,[8] while The Manhattan Transfer's version, featuring Janis Siegel on lead vocals, peaked at No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August 1981. The Manhattan Transfer version was used by pro wrestler Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant as his theme music during his tenure with Jim Crockett promotions in the 1980s.

Darts version

Track listing

Personnel

Chart history

Weekly charts
Chart (1978)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 34
UK[10] 2
Year-end charts

The Manhattan Transfer version

The Boy from New York City
Cover:The_Boy_from_New_York_City_-_The_Manhattan_Transfer.jpg
Type:single
Artist:The Manhattan Transfer
Album:Mecca for Moderns
B-Side:(The Word of) Confirmation
Released:May
Length:3:40
Label:Atlantic
Producer:Jay Graydon
Prev Title:Trickle Trickle
Prev Year:1980
Next Title:Smile Again
Next Year:1981

"To have a hit like that you need a great song. We thought 'Boy from New York City' had a second shot [at success] in it & it did. It's one of those perfect sing-a-long songs. People love to sing it & the key to that song is the bassline at the beginning

...that grabs the listener. That song swings."[12]

Track listing

Personnel

The Manhattan Transfer
Additional musicians

Chart history

Weekly charts
Chart (1981)Peak
position
Australia KMR[13] 36
Canada RPM Top Singles[14] 8
New Zealand[15] 2
Switzerland [16] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 7
US Billboard Adult Contemporary4
US Cash Box Top 100[18] 8
Year-end charts
Chart (1981)Rank
Canada [19] 60
New Zealand [20] 28
Switzerland [21] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 36
US Cash Box [23] 49

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Boy From New York City - The Ad Libs | Listen, Appearances, Song Review . AllMusic . 2014-06-06.
  2. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 -
  3. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 27, 1965 . July 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170313162325/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19650227.html . March 13, 2017 . dead .
  4. Web site: RPM Top 40 Singles - March 1, 1965.
  5. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1965.htm Musicoutfitters.com
  6. Web site: Unterberger. Richie. AllMusic 'Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!). .
  7. Web site: Hickey . Andrew . Episode 146: “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys . A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs . 13 November 2023 . 25 March 2022 . The Beach Boys had definitely been aware of that record — on their 1965 album Summer Days… And Summer Nights! they recorded an answer song to it, “The Girl From New York City”: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, “The Girl From New York City”] And you can see how influenced Brian was by the Ad-Libs record by laying the early instrumental takes of the “Good Vibrations” chorus from this February session under the vocal intro of “The Boy From New York City”. It’s not a perfect match, but you can definitely hear that there’s an influence there:.
  8. Book: Roberts, David. 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited. London. 1-904994-10-5. 141.
  9. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 82.
  10. Book: Peter . Scaping . BPI Year Book 1979 . Top 200 Singles in 1978 . The British Phonographic Industry Ltd . London, England . 186–89 . 4th . 1979 . 0-906154-02-2.
  11. Book: Peter . Scaping . BPI Year Book 1979 . Top 200 Singles in 1978 . The British Phonographic Industry Ltd . London, England . 186–89 . 4th . 1979 . 0-906154-02-2.
  12. Hartford Courant 24 September 2014 "Still on Track: Manhattan Transfer remains unique" by Ed Condran p.D1-D2
  13. Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W . 1993. 0-646-11917-6. Kent Music Report.
  14. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . 30 March 2012. 2017-04-04.
  15. http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=2962 NZ Top 40 Singles, 27 September 1981
  16. Web site: The Manhattan Transfer - Boy from New York City - hitparade.ch.
  17. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 -
  18. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 15, 1981 . July 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150603155247/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/80s_files/19810815.html . June 3, 2015 . dead .
  19. Web site: Top 100 Singles (1981). . 2017-07-21.
  20. Web site: The Official New Zealand Music Chart.
  21. http://swisscharts.com/charts/jahreshitparade/1981 Swiss Year-End Charts, 1981
  22. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1981.htm Musicoutfitters.com
  23. Web site: Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1981 . July 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161022115158/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html . October 22, 2016 . dead .

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