The State Song of New Jersey - "Be Proud To Be In New Jersey"

Do you know the state song of New Jersey? Well, you shouldn't. New Jersey is one of a few states that does not have an official song, but if Mark Winter and Ellen Winter have their way, their composition will become the official state song.

The Winters, who wrote and performed "Be Proud To Be In New Jersey", were chosen as the finalists in the state song competition. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts announced the finalists at a press conference on May 29, 1996. "For almost 30 years, the NJSCA has strived to foster the inclusion of the arts into all aspects of life in our state by encouraging and supporting the finest artists and arts organizations." said NJSCA Chairman Lillian Levy. "By holding the
state song contest, the council had the opportunity to broaden our constituency and hearfrom people from every corner of the state."

"It would be a great honor if our song was to be chosen as the state song: we tried hard to come up with a song that we felt would appeal to a large audience while still being somewhat modern," the couple said. The Winters are no strangers to songwriting and performing. In 1988 they, with their group, Ilusion, had a hit with "I Want Your Love In Me."

The dance song, released on Epic Records (Sony), was a big dance hit for the group. The Winters also have won the WPLJ jingle contest for the past two years.

Following is a list of reasons why the Legislature should pick
"Be Proud To Be In New Jersey" as the NJ State Song:

·It is a spirited song with the same type of bouncy melody and catchy lyrics as songs like Irving Berlin's "God Bless America".

·It can easily be performed in a variety of styles, including a slow ballad, march, and popular.

·It is the only one of the three songs nominated that is written by professional songwriters who were both born and raised in New Jersey.

·It will have the widest appeal of the three nominated songs, bridging the generations and keeping the sound of New Jersey moving into the future, not into the past.

·It is rousing, inspiring and powerful, enabling it to be performed in parades, sports events, and at school functions, and one of the best songs about NJ.

·The lyrics of "Be Proud To Be In New Jersey" celebrate the beauty and spirit of New Jersey's present and past, and give inspiration for its future.

Y100 Miami & The South Beach Dance Party

Okay, Y100 Miami made a really smart move back in February when they launched the South Beach Dance Party. Dance music had been off the radio since 2005 when Party 93.1 went off the air and there really was no place for the average listener to hear any type of dance music. Well, the party was back in full force... at least for a while. Cool dance mixes, remixes of top 40 songs, interviews with past and present dance artists (Cascada, Lucas Prata, Deborah Gibson, Will To Power, Cover Girls, Expose and more), and all hosted by South Florida radio celebrity MarkyG. The show kicked off in February and was going strong... kicking ass! What a great idea!

So what happened? Dave Ross, Clear Channel regional VP left. Y100 Program Director Rob Roberts was terminated. They were the smart guys who saw the need for the show in South Florida and really across the country. Dance music, although popular really doesn't have enough following at least in the US, to warrant an entire radio station devoted to it (satellite radio excluded), so a 3 hour weekly show, with really cool segments fit the bill perfectly!

Well, the new management guys showed up and just cancelled the show, without ever even hearing it or looking at the ratings! Well guess what? The arbitron winter book came out and wow! South Beach Dance Party was through the roof! Y100 was #1 on Sunday nights! The entire 5 weeks the South Beach Dance Party was on the air, Y100 was receiving the highest ratings it ever had!

So where's the logic? Where's the sense of it all? Why take off your highest rated show on the station? Oh yeah, and what about the listeners? Do they even care about them? Apparently not. They always say, "it's all about the ratings." Well the ratings came in at #1. How much higher does one have to go. Why is the South Beach Dance Party still off the air? Check it out: www.southbeachdanceparty.com