{"id":2076125,"date":"2025-10-08T01:33:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2076125"},"modified":"2025-10-08T01:33:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:33:42","slug":"ace-frehleys-new-york-groove-the-story-behind-the-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/ace-frehleys-new-york-groove-the-story-behind-the-song\/","title":{"rendered":"Ace Frehley&#8217;s New York Groove: The story behind the song"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"f8af401b-94f8-4ad5-b337-f4e96ce15065\"><em>New York Groove<\/em> is <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/ace-frehley-s-5-essential-guitar-records\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/ace-frehley-s-5-essential-guitar-records\">Ace Frehley<\/a>\u2019s very own personal anthem. The track is as synonymous with the ex-<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/music\/albums\/kiss-albums-ranked\" data-before-rewrite-redirect=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/kiss-albums-ranked-from-worst-to-best\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/music\/albums\/kiss-albums-ranked\">Kiss<\/a> man as his silver superhero suit and smokin\u2019 six-string.<\/p>\n<p>Frehley was born and raised in the Bronx, so the Big Apple is his kinda town. And <em>New York Groove<\/em> is his kinda song \u2013 even though he didn\u2019t actually write it. Nevertheless, when Ace barks the line \u2018<em>It\u2019s gonna be ecstasy\u2026 this place was meant for me<\/em>\u2019 above that foot-stomping rhythm, you can sense the native pride shivering down his Spaceman spine.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-seasonal\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"f8af401b-94f8-4ad5-b337-f4e96ce15065-2\">\u201cA lot of people think I wrote <em>New York Groove<\/em>. It\u2019s not a myth that I\u2019ve perpetuated, but that\u2019s the way it is. I wish I would\u2019ve wrote the song, though. I would\u2019ve made a lot more cash out of it, ha-ha-hargh!\u201d Frehley chuckles in his inimitable style.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-solid border-y border-neutral-300\">\n<span class=\"font-article-heading block pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333]\"><br \/>\nYou may like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In fact <em>New York Groove<\/em> was written by Russ Ballard and recorded originally by North London glitter-popstrels Hello, who enjoyed a brief burst of fame in the mid-70s. Three years before Frehley included <em>New York Groove<\/em> on his self-titled 1978 solo album, Hello\u2019s version was a hit all over Europe. It got to No.9 in the UK and No.7 in Germany.<\/p>\n<p id=\"eb736330-6a16-4d85-ae02-d9d5daa61d09\">Ballard takes up the story: \u201cIn 1975 I\u2019d just finished producing <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/roger-daltrey-interview-my-life-with-the-who\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/roger-daltrey-interview-my-life-with-the-who\">Roger Daltrey<\/a>\u2019s solo album, <em>Ride A Rock Horse<\/em>. I got it cut in London but Roger said to me: \u2018People say Bob Ludwig\u2019s cuts are louder at Sterling Sound in New York. Do you fancy flying out and doing a cut there?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ballard, the former guitarist with Argent, hadn\u2019t been to New York for a while. \u201cWhile I was sitting on the plane I got out a pen and paper and started thinking of the phrase \u2018back in the New York groove\u2019. That\u2019d be a good title for a song, I reckoned; the whole idea of someone going back to New York and singing about the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Returning to the UK, Ballard met up with Hello\u2019s manager, Dave Blaylock, who asked him: \u201cHave you got any more songs my band might be interested in?\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-sL8CPu7QHZEuPxnLvacrqL\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-sL8CPu7QHZEuPxnLvacrqL slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ballard had written Hello\u2019s debut single, <em>You Move Me<\/em>. Hello had also demo\u2019d another Ballard song, <em>Can\u2019t Let You Go<\/em>, which had become a Top 40 hit for Barry Ryan.<\/p>\n<p>Ballard replied: \u201cI haven\u2019t got a song exactly, but I\u2019ve got this title, I\u2019ve got this kind of idea\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"5e862c16-92e2-4c4e-9142-fd8daf398cb9\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:970px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:144.33%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aq8jkNJSUFQxj9hKUqcLpJ-970-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aq8jkNJSUFQxj9hKUqcLpJ-970-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aq8jkNJSUFQxj9hKUqcLpJ-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aq8jkNJSUFQxj9hKUqcLpJ-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aq8jkNJSUFQxj9hKUqcLpJ-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aq8jkNJSUFQxj9hKUqcLpJ-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Hello, circa 1975 (l-r) Vic Faulkner, Bob Bradbury, Keith Marshall and Jeff Allen <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Gems\/Redferns)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"c698f7c7-7770-48d8-9c0b-4455f59b016d\">Hello\u2019s version of <em>New York Groove<\/em> was recorded in just five hours at Livingston Studios, Barnet, north of London.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-solid border-y border-neutral-300\">\n<span class=\"font-article-heading block pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333]\"><br \/>\nYou may like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to do a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/bo-diddley-best-albums\" data-before-rewrite-redirect=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/buyer-s-guide-bo-diddley\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/bo-diddley-best-albums\">Bo Diddley<\/a> beat because I thought that sort of sound hadn\u2019t been heard for a long time,\u201d Ballard reveals. \u201cSo I got some maracas and a harmonica, and<\/p>\n<p>I started off with this \u2018cha-ch-ch-cha-chcha-cha\u2019 rhythm. I got the members of Hello to stand on some trestle tables with their platform boots on and they all stomped along. I had the chorus \u2013 \u2018<em>I\u2019m back, back in the New York groove<\/em>\u2019 \u2013 and I wrote the rest of the words in the studio.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frehley claims never to have heard the Hello track. \u201cOr maybe I have and I just can\u2019t remember,\u201d he tells <em>Classic Rock<\/em>. \u201cCan you send me an MP3 of it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Ace Of Space decided to record <em>New York Groove<\/em> \u201cbecause we realised we needed a more commercial song for inclusion on my solo record, so we tracked it while we were doing the overdubs in Manhattan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The majority of Frehley\u2019s album was recorded in Sharon, Connecticut, \u201cat somebody\u2019s house. A mansion that was originally part of the Colgate estate \u2013 the toothpaste people. Is toothpaste big in England? Is Colgate an English chap or an American chap? Ha-ha-hargh! It kills me,\u201d Frehley laughs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUp in Connecticut, we cut all the basic tracks,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt was just me and [drummer] Anton Fig. [Producer] Eddie Kramer brought along the Electric Lady remote truck. I had an old Les Paul, an old Fender and a Harvard amplifier with a 12-inch speaker. We put the guitars in one room and set up the drums in the hallway. There were two staircases going up, to the left and to the right. We put the drums right in the middle. We mic\u2019d above and got all natural reverb. That\u2019s how we did most of the tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>New York Groove<\/em>, however, was laid down in Plaza Sound Studios above Radio City Music Hall on 51st Street.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was kinda cool because the Rockettes \u2013 the dancers who perform at Radio City \u2013 used to sun themselves on the roof. The studio was right there off the stairway. These beautiful, semi-naked girls were constantly walking into the studio and checking out what was going on. So that was quite a nice recording environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"b94b27d3-928e-4b7c-a6ab-31a5cdd755b2\">All four Kiss solo albums \u2013 from Frehley, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/interview-gene-simmons-on-the-majesty-of-gene-simmons\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/interview-gene-simmons-on-the-majesty-of-gene-simmons\">Gene Simmons<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/who-is-the-real-paul-stanley\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/who-is-the-real-paul-stanley\">Paul Stanley<\/a> and Peter Criss \u2013 were released simultaneously on September 18, 1978. Frehley\u2019s was the only one to generate a hit single, with <em>New York Groove<\/em> reaching No.13 in the US in early 1979 during a 21-week run in the chart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt didn\u2019t feel like I was getting one over on the other guys in Kiss,\u201d Frehley shrugs, \u201cit\u2019s just something that happened. I was lucky that it came out as good as it did. I never really listened to the other three solo records, although I did put Gene\u2019s on once. When I heard his version of <em>When You Wish Upon A Star<\/em> I had to pull it off the turntable, ha-ha-hargh!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ballard says <em>New York Groove<\/em> is one of the most successful songs he\u2019s written. \u201cI guess it surprised me because it\u2019s so incredibly simple. They say a good song will always sell. And there\u2019s a lot of truth in that. I\u2019ve got a few others that keep going round and round, which is wonderful.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Songs like <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/how-rainbow-turned-the-soft-since-youve-been-gone-into-a-crunchy-rock-classic\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/how-rainbow-turned-the-soft-since-youve-been-gone-into-a-crunchy-rock-classic\"><em>Since You\u2019ve Been Gone<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/argent-god-gave-rock-and-roll-to-you-the-story-behind-the-song\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/argent-god-gave-rock-and-roll-to-you-the-story-behind-the-song\"><em>God Gave Rock\u2019N\u2019Roll To You<\/em><\/a> [recorded originally by Argent and covered by Kiss], and another one by America called <em>You Can Do Magic<\/em> which was absolutely monster in the US. Then there\u2019s <em>New York Groove<\/em>, which still gets played at major sporting events in the city \u2013 like at Giants Stadium. It\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During our interview with Frehley we mention that we\u2019ll be talking to Ballard as well as him. \u201cGive him my best,\u201d Frehley requests. \u201cWhat\u2019s he doing these days?\u201d We don\u2019t know exactly, we respond. Maybe he\u2019s living off the royalties from New York Groove. \u201cHa-ha-hargh!\u201d cackles Ace. \u201cHa-ha-hargh!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.loudersound.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Groove is Ace Frehley\u2019s very own personal anthem. The track is as synonymous with the ex-Kiss man as his silver superhero suit and smokin\u2019 six-string. Frehley was born and raised in the Bronx, so the Big Apple is his kinda town. And New York Groove is his kinda song \u2013 even though he [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2076126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2076125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ace-Frehleys-New-York-Groove-The-story-behind-the-song.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2076125"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2076127,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076125\/revisions\/2076127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2076126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2076125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2076125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2076125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}