If you could choose an official song for New Jersey, what would it be?
Despite efforts over the years, the Garden State remains the only state in the nation without an official state song. Dr. Rich Lee, a journalism professor at St. Bonaventure University, is reviving his decades-old plea to establish a state song for New Jersey—surprise, the Boss is his pick.
So, what Springsteen song is his choice? Well, obviously, it’s Born to Run.
Before becoming a professor, Lee worked as a young journalist covering rock and roll in the 1980s. It was during this time writing about music in the Garden State that he first made his case.
In 1980, Lee published an op-ed in The New York Times titled In Support of a Proposal for a State Anthem. In the article, he argued that what started as a joke on WPLJ-FM, when disc jockey Carol Miller introduced Born to Run by stating “everyone please rise for the New Jersey state anthem,” was actually the first domino.
The NJ Council on the Arts, at the time, was already considering a state anthem. Following Miller’s on-air declaration, letters of support began flowing in. Assemblyman Richard F. Visotcky of Garfield even introduced a bill to designate the Springsteen hit as the official NJ anthem.
Over 40 years later, Lee thinks the case is stronger than ever. To support his presentation, he conducted extensive research on state anthems and interviewed some of the early figures of the movement, including Carol Miller herself and Assemblyman Visotcky’s son Robert, who is credited with convincing his father to introduce the legislation some four decades ago.
The findings will be presented Friday at 1:45 p.m. at the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture conference in Philadelphia. Conor Amendola, a Media Studies major at St. Bonaventure, assisted with the research and will join Lee at the conference.
The question is this: will the New Jersey legislature listen to his case? With Lee’s help, New Jersey may finally adopt a song that represents its identity and culture.
“Sprung from cages out on Highway 9, chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin’ out over the line,” could soon become etched into official state lore.
Do you support the effort?
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
