Arts & Entertainment

Teaneck Composer Pushes For Tune to Become NJ State Song

Resident competing with "Red Mascara" to have his tune named state song. New Jersey is the only state without an official anthem, report says.

A classical composer from Teaneck has been lobbying for 17 years to have his song designated as New Jersey’s official tune, the Record reported.

Patrick Finley, a teacher and choir director at the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, won a contest in 1996 to give the Garden State an anthem. New Jersey is the only state without an official tune, the report said.

Although Finley’s “New Jersey, My Home” beat out 240 others, he is still pushing for officials to approve his song.

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Another New Jersey resident, Joseph Rocco Mascari, is also vying for the honor, according to the report. Mascari, an amateur songwriter who goes by “Red Mascara,” managed to get his tune “I’m From New Jersey,” designed as the state’s official song by Legislature in 1972 and 1979. The bill, however, was never signed into law.

“I can’t understand why they haven’t adopted it. I hope it’s pretty soon because I don’t know how long I’m going to last,” the 91-year-old Mascari told the newspaper.

Find out what's happening in Teaneckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Finley has unsuccessfully attempted to compromise with Mascari.

Listen to both songs:

 

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