Download NewLife.mp3 (800 k, playing time 3:24 minutes)

Sinatra's tune may be the de facto anthem of the Big Apple, but did you know that Brooklyn has its own equivalent to "New York, New York?" We didn't either, until we found this 45 rpm single lying in a planter outside the Cafe Carciofo on Court Street. The song, "New Life in Brooklyn," is long forgotten, and probably was never well loved--unlike other pieces of New York boosterism that have endured: "I ♥ New York."

"New Life in Brooklyn" was produced in 1978 and sponsored by Brooklyn Union Gas. Keyspan Energy wasn't interested in helping us track down its origins, so the only information we have is what is cataloged by the Library of Congress: The music was arranged and composed by one Willy Strickland, and the lyrics are credited to Jack (John Perry) Aaker.

The b-side is called the "Brooklyn Union Gas Cinderella Theme." It's essentially the same as "New Life in Brooklyn," but it sounds like a Broadway number, whereas "New Life in Brooklyn" is disco.