Rich Lee Makes Case For ‘Born To Run’ To Be New Jersey’s State Song
Professor Lee in Asbury Park
There is only one state in the U.S. that has never had a state song. Ironically, it is New Jersey, a state filled with music and musicians. We have been given permission to post Richard Lee’s strong argument—published in the prestigious journal American Music Perspectives in 2004 and updated by Lee last month—why the time is right for “Born To Run” by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band to, indeed, be The State Song Of New Jersey.
Lee has been a college professor, music journalist, political reporter and Deputy Communications Director for two New Jersey governors. Since 2011, he has taught journalism at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University. At St. Bonaventure, he serves as Executive Director of the Jandoli Institute, a public policy center he founded to explore the relationship between media and democracy. In his research, Rich often explores the intersection of pop culture and public policy. During summers, he teaches at Oxford University in Great Britain as part of St. Bonaventure’s Francis E. Kelley Oxford program.
This link serves as a portal to Lee’s persuasive prose. And we concur.