New York City, New York

Everything New York City is known for

1898 songs mention this city 40 artists from here

New York City, New York, is a global center of culture and entertainment, known for its continuous urban energy. The city has a significant musical identity, being home to 40 artists in our collection and mentioned in 1715 songs. Artists like Lady Gaga and Billy Joel call New York City home. The song "BBC" by Jay-Z also mentions the city.

New York City has long been a thriving home for popular genres such as jazz, rock, soul music, R&B, and hip-hop. It is also the birthplace of genres like punk rock and disco.

Music in New York City

Songs About New York City

I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado
Mary Travers
100%
"He lives in New York City"
Paint Me Back Home In Wyoming - Remastered
Chris LeDoux
100%
"So I came here to Madison Square Garden to ride in the big rodeo"
BBC
Jay-Z
100%
"Mace niggas at Madison Square Garden"
Drive of Shame (feat. Mick Jagger)
Brad Paisley
100%
"As Central Park West turns into memory lane"
Ferris Wheel
C J Garton
100%
"I've walked the high line, I've juggled a few times"
Rose Conley
Grayson
100%
"Like a wolf on my Wall Street"
Who Gon Stop Me
Jay-Z
100%
"Graduated to the MoMA"
Olympia WA
Rancid
100%
"Hangin' on the corner of 52nd and Broadway"
Fear and Friday's (Poem)
Zach Bryan
100%
"I have stood atop the Empire State Building with my father"
Annie
James McMurtry
98%
"Trade Center's gone, Trade Center's gone"
The Set Up
Nas
98%
"Q.B. since 1933"
My Love Is Your Love
Whitney Houston
98%
"And I'm sleepin' in Grand Central Station (Ooh, okay)"
Yuri Kochiyama
Blue Scholars
98%
"You were sittin' front seat for Malcolm's last speech"
Last Real Nigga Alive
Nas
98%
"Puff drove his new Range through Queensbridge Projects"
Smaller Acts
Zach Bryan
98%
"Friday afternoon at the Mercury Lounge"
Keanu Reeves
Logic
98%
"At the Garden, sitting courtside, look around like, "Oh my God""
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
98%
"You leave the Pennsylvania Station 'bout a quarter to four"
Paint Me Back Home in Wyoming
Chris LeDoux
98%
"So I came here to Madison Square Garden to ride in the big rodeo"
Bongos
Cardi B
98%
"So sexy, I could Met Gala in a robe"
Hero
Nas
98%
"QB"

Showing top 20 of 1898 songs

Artists From New York City

L
Lady Gaga
pop
T
The Chainsmokers
electronic
A
Alicia Keys
r-n-b
B
Billy Joel
pop
M
Marc Anthony
latin
T
The Strokes
indie
C
Chic
r-n-b
T
The Village People
r-n-b
T
Tony Bennett & Count Basie and His Orchestra
jazz
B
Blondie
rock
A
AJR
pop
T
Talking Heads
indie
D
Dion
rock
T
Television
indie
T
The New York Dolls
rock
Y
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
indie
E
Eric Bibb
blues
L
Luther Vandross
r-n-b
F
Fiona Apple
indie
I
Interpol
indie

Showing top 20 of 40 artists

Rivers & Roads in Song near New York City

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near New York City.

Interstate 95 19 songs Hudson River 11 songs New Jersey Turnpike 7 songs

Musical Heritage

CBGB — Birthplace of American Punk RoadyGoat

1973

The narrow storefront at 315 Bowery was CBGB, the grimy club where American punk and new wave were essentially born. Hilly Kristal opened it in December 1973, and the name is one of music's great ironies: CBGB & OMFUG stood for 'Country, BlueGrass, Blues, and Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandizers' (Kristal meant a 'voracious eater' — of music). Almost no country or bluegrass ever played there. Instead the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Patti Smith and Television cut their teeth on its tiny stage through the 1970s. CBGB closed on October 15, 2006 over a lease dispute, and Kristal died of lung cancer the following year. The space later became a John Varvatos clothing boutique (opened April 2008), which kept some of the club's graffiti and posters; 'CBGB 73' is still etched in the cement at the entrance.

Holsten's — The Sopranos' Cut-to-Black Diner RoadyGoat

1939

Holsten's Brookdale Confectionery sits at 1063 Broad Street in Bloomfield, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and candy shop that has been making its own chocolate and ice cream since 1939 (and is still open). It earned a permanent place in TV history on June 10, 2007, when 'Made in America,' the series finale of HBO's 'The Sopranos,' filmed its last scene in one of Holsten's vinyl booths. Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini, ordered onion rings and punched up Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'' on the jukebox before the screen abruptly cut to black for roughly ten seconds — an ending so sudden many viewers thought their cable had failed. The original booth became a fan shrine, but it was actually sold at auction in March 2024 for about 82,600 dollars; the shop welcomes fans to sit in its place today.

11.0 mi away

History of New York City

Lombardi's Pizza RoadyGoat

Gennaro Lombardi opened America's first licensed pizzeria on Spring Street in Manhattan in 1905. The coal-fired oven produces a charred, blistered crust that set the template for New York-style pizza. Every pizza dynasty in New York — Patsy's, John's, Totonno's — traces its lineage back to Lombardi's. The original location closed in 1984 but reopened around the corner in 1994, and the coal oven has been burning ever since.

McSorley's Old Ale House RoadyGoat

McSorley's has been pouring in the East Village since 1854, making it New York City's oldest bar. Abraham Lincoln drank here. Woody Guthrie drank here. The menu is light ale or dark ale — that's it. Sawdust covers the floor. Wishbones hang from the gas lamp, left by soldiers heading to World War I who never came back. Women weren't allowed until a 1970 court order.

Ellis Island - The Border Runs Through the Building RoadyGoat

1892

For over a century, everyone assumed Ellis Island was in New York. It appeared on New York maps, New York politicians claimed it, and twelve million immigrants who passed through between 1892 and 1954 were told they had arrived in New York. But the original Ellis Island was just three acres of mud and oyster shells. An 1834 compact between the two states placed this tiny island under New York's jurisdiction, even though it sits clearly on New Jersey's side of the harbor. Here is the twist. Between 1891 and 1934, the federal government massively expanded the island with landfill, growing it to over twenty-seven acres. All that new land was built in waters that the 1834 compact had explicitly granted to New Jersey. In 1997, New Jersey sued. The Supreme Court ruled six to three in 1998 that the original island remains New York territory, but all the landfill belongs to New Jersey. The border between the two states now runs through the middle of buildings on Ellis Island, following the ghost of the original shoreline. Roughly eighty-three percent of Ellis Island is in New Jersey. The main building where millions of immigrants were processed sits mostly in New Jersey. The gift shop where you buy the Statue of Liberty magnet that says New York is in New Jersey.

World Trade Center / Ground Zero

2001

Site of the September 11, 2001 attacks that destroyed the Twin Towers and killed 2,977 people.

Ellis Island Immigration Station

1892

From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

Brooklyn Bridge

1869

The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, was the first steel-wire suspension bridge and the longest suspension bridge in the world for twenty years.

CBGB

1973

CBGB at 315 Bowery was the birthplace of American punk rock, launching the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, and Television.

Ellis Island (New Jersey Side)

1892

In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that most of Ellis Island's landmass belongs to New Jersey, not New York.

Tin Pan Alley

1885

The stretch of West 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue where the American popular music publishing industry was born.

Things to Do in New York City

historical 2.7 mi away
Statue of Liberty

Give me your tired your poor. 305 feet of copper freedom since 1886.
food 0.7 mi away
Lombardi's Pizza

America's first pizzeria opened in 1905 on Spring Street in Manhattan. Coal-fired oven. The original New York slice started here.
food 1.1 mi away
Katz's Delicatessen

I'll have what she's having. NYC's legendary pastrami since 1888.
food 1.3 mi away
McSorley's Old Ale House

NYC's oldest bar since 1854. Lincoln drank here. You get light or dark — that's it. Sawdust floors and wishbones on the gas lamp.
food 2.3 mi away
Peter Luger Steak House

Brooklyn's legendary porterhouse palace since 1887. Cash only. The steak sauce is iconic. Zagat's top steakhouse for 30 straight years.
food 6.6 mi away
Di Fara Pizza

One man hand-cutting basil and drizzling olive oil on every pizza since 1965 in Brooklyn.
historical 7.2 mi away
Apollo Theater

Amateur Night launched Ella James Brown and a young Michael Jackson. Harlem's crown jewel.
food 9.7 mi away
Nathan's Famous (Original)

The Coney Island hot dog stand that started it all in 1916. Home of the July 4th eating contest. Mustard not ketchup.

Everything Near New York City

377 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Explore New York City on the Map
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