GEORGE “COMMANDER CODY” FRAYNE
“Well, they got a lot of diners and motels where you can stay/But such confusing highways, you get lost along the way,” sings George “Commander Cody” Frayne, who is not from New Jersey but has undoubtedly done a lot of touring here, in the bluesy but fun “Going to New Jersey.”
The song — from his 2012 live album, Hot Rod Lincoln — climaxes with a bit of Bruce Springsteen-like testifying:
“I’ve been travelin’ down the Jersey Turnpike!
I’ve been drivin’ on the Garden State!
I’ve been cruising down Route 22!
From Paramus to Secaucus!
From Hoboken to Ho-Ho-Kus!
From Asbury Park to Atlantic City!”
Frayne, who is now based in Sarasota Springs, N.Y., first earned a cult following in the late ’60s and early ’70s with his eccentric roadhouse rock band, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. He is still active with his Commander Cody Band; they will perform at the Record Collector in Bordentown, Sept. 18; and the Camp Jam in the Pines Music Festival in Hammonton, Sept. 19.
New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday in 2014. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, from September 2014 to September 2015 — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. To see the entire list, click here.
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