42nd Street (song)


"42nd Street" is the title song from the 1933 Warner Bros. backstage musical film 42nd Street, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin. The song was published in 1932. It is the finale of the film, where it was sung by Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and ensemble. It was used again in 1980 when the film was adapted as a long-running Broadway musical. In 2004 the song placed #97 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.

Cover versions

The music inspired the title song to the Indian Hindi language film Sabse Bada Rupaiya. The song "Sabse Bada Rupaiya" would be used again in another Indian "Bollywood" film Bluffmaster.
The song was used in the 1940 Warner Bros. film City for Conquest, starring James Cagney and Ann Sheridan when it was played at various times throughout the picture.
Warner Bros. cartoon musical director Carl Stalling often used the song in cartoons in urban settings. In Daffy Doodles, it is used in a scene involving a subway train.