JERSEY: New Jersey is the only state in the nation that has never had a state song. Dr. Rich Lee, a professor at St. Bonaventure University, wants to change that.

Lee, who covered rock’n’roll before he became a journalism professor, believes New Jersey should make Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” the state’s official song. He will lay out his arguments for the designation on Friday in a presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture conference in Philadelphia.

In 1980, Lee penned an op-ed for The New York Times in support of making “Born to Run” the New Jersey anthem.

Springsteen was born in Freehold, N.J., and grew up at the Jersey Shore. He references his Jersey upbringing in his music, describing booths and arcades on the boardwalk at Asbury Park, and using phrases describing growing up there.

“In my conference presentation, I will suggest that — based on the qualities and characteristics of state and national anthems, and given Springsteen’s body of work over the past 50 years — the argument for making ‘Born to Run’ New Jersey’s state song are stronger today than they were in 1980,” Lee said.

To develop the presentation, Lee interviewed Carol Miller who started the state anthem campaign when she was a disc jockey at WPLJ in New York. He also spoke with Robert Visotcky about how he convinced his father, who was then a state Assemblyman, to introduce legislation to make “Born to Run” the state anthem.

In addition, he conducted academic research on anthems and state songs, and he explored Springsteen’s accomplishments in the years since he wrote “Born to Run.”

Lee made the point in his op-ed that any song that helped popularize New Jersey deserves consideration.