Culture

General

New Jersey has continued to play a prominent role as a U.S. cultural nexus. Like every state, New Jersey has its own cuisine, religious communities, museums, and halls of fame.

New Jersey is the birthplace of modern inventions such as: FM radio, the motion picture camera, the lithium battery, the light bulb, transistors, and the electric train. Other New Jersey creations include: the drive-in movie, the cultivated blueberry, cranberry sauce, the postcard, the boardwalk, the zipper, the phonograph, saltwater taffy, the dirigible, the seedless watermelon, the first use of a submarine in warfare, and the ice cream cone.

Diners are iconic to New Jersey. The state is home to many diner manufacturers and has over 600 diners, more than any other place in the world.

New Jersey is the only state without a state song. I'm From New Jersey is incorrectly listed on many websites as being the New Jersey state song, but it was not even a contender when in 1996 the New Jersey Arts Council submitted their suggestions to the New Jersey Legislature.

New Jersey is frequently the target of jokes in American culture, especially from New York City-based television shows, such as Saturday Night Live. Academic Michael Aaron Rockland attributes this to New Yorkers' view that New Jersey is the beginning of Middle America. The New Jersey Turnpike, which runs between two major East Coast cities, New York City and Philadelphia, is also cited as a reason, as people who traverse through the state may only see its industrial zones. Reality television shows like Jersey Shore and The Real Housewives of New Jersey have reinforced stereotypical views of New Jersey culture, but Rockland cited The Sopranos and the music of Bruce Springsteen as exporting a more positive image.

Cuisine

New Jersey is known for several foods developed within the region, including Taylor Ham (also known as pork roll), cheesesteaks, and scrapple.

Several states with substantial Italian American populations take credit for the development of submarine sandwiches, including New Jersey.

Music

New Jersey has long been an important origin for both rock and rap music. Prominent musicians from or with significant connections to New Jersey include:

• Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken. He sang with a neighborhood vocal group, the Hoboken Four, and appeared in neighborhood theater amateur shows before he became an Academy Award-winning actor.
• Bruce Springsteen, who has sung of New Jersey life on most of his albums, is from Freehold. Some of his songs that represent New Jersey life are "Born to Run", "Spirit in the Night", "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", "Thunder Road", "Atlantic City", and "Jungleland".
• The Jonas Brothers all reside in Wyckoff, where the eldest and youngest brothers of the group, Kevin and Frankie Jonas, were born.
• Irvington's Queen Latifah was one of the first female rappers to succeed in music, film, and television.
• Lauryn Hill is from South Orange. Her 1998 debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, sold 10 million copies internationally. She also sold millions with The Fugees second album The Score.
• Southside Johnny, eponymous leader of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes was raised in Ocean Grove. He is considered the "Grandfather of the New Jersey Sound" and is cited by Jersey-born Jon Bon Jovi as his reason for singing.
• Redman (Reggie Noble) was born, raised, and resides in Newark.
• All members of The Sugarhill Gang were born in Englewood.
• Roc-A-Fella Records rap producer Just Blaze is from Paterson.
• Jon Bon Jovi, from Sayreville, reached fame in the 1980s with hard rock outfit Bon Jovi. The band has also written many songs about life in New Jersey, including "Livin' On A Prayer", and named one of their albums after the state.
• Singer Dionne Warwick was born in East Orange.
• Singer Whitney Houston (who is Dionne Warwick's cousin) was born in Newark, and grew up in neighboring East Orange.
• Jazz pianist and bandleader Count Basie was born in Red Bank in 1904. In the 1960s, he collaborated on several albums with fellow New Jersey native Frank Sinatra. The Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank is named in his honor.
• Parliament-Funkadelic, the funk music collective, was formed in Plainfield by George Clinton.
• Asbury Park is home of The Stone Pony, which Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi frequented early in their careers
• Hip-hop pioneers Naughty By Nature are from East Orange.
• In 1964, the Isley Brothers founded the record label T-Neck Records, named after Teaneck, their home at the time.
• The Broadway musical Jersey Boys is based on the lives of the members of the Four Seasons, three of whose members were born in New Jersey (Tommy DeVito, Frankie Valli, and Nick Massi) while a fourth, Bob Gaudio, was born out of state but raised in Bergenfield.citation needed
• Jazz pianist Bill Evans was born in Plainfield in 1929.
• Post-hardcore band Thursday was formed in New Brunswick. Numerous songs reference the city.citation needed
• Horror punk band The Misfits hail from Lodi, as well as their founder Glenn Danzig.
• Punk rock poet Patti Smith is from Mantua.
• Indie rock veterans Yo La Tengo are based in Hoboken. They also have a song called "Night Falls on Hoboken".
• New Jersey was the East Coast hub for ska music in the 1990s. Some of the most popular ska bands, such as Catch 22 and Streetlight Manifesto, come from East Brunswick.citation needed
• Black Label Society's and Ozzy Osbourne's famed guitarist Zakk Wylde was born in Bayonne and raised in Jackson.
• The original four members of The Bouncing Souls grew up in Basking Ridge, and the band was formed in New Brunswick in the late 1980s.
• As a child, singer Akon grew up in Union City, Newark, and Jersey City.
• My Chemical Romance's Frank Iero, Gerard Way, Mikey Way, and Ray Toro all are from New Jersey.
• Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta grew up in New Jersey.
• Punk band The Gaslight Anthem hails from New Brunswick.
• Experimental metal band The Dillinger Escape Plan are from Morris Plains.
• Debbie Harry, born in Miami, Florida, in 1945 but raised by her adoptive parents in Hawthorne.

In comics and video games

• The fictional Gotham City, home to Batman, is depicted in DC Comics and the DC Extended Universe as being located in New Jersey.
• The Lost and Damned (2009), The Ballad of Gay Tony and Max Payne 3 (2012) take place in New Jersey.
• The Grand Theft Auto series has parodied the state multiple times, with "New Guernsey" and "Alderney City" appearing as locations in games in the series.