Official Musical Interludes

Forty-nine of the fifty U.S. states that make up the United States of America have one or more state songs, which are selected by each state legislature, and/or state governor, as a symbol (or emblem) of that particular U.S. state. 

Colorado has two—one of which is the massively appropriate, gee-duh-of-course pick:
Rocky Mountain High by John Denver

Georgia has Georgia on My Mind, here sung by Ray Charles. Beautiful!

Connecticut has Yankee Doodle Dandy which always brings Jimmy Cagney to mind. Naturally.

New York has I Love New York and, ya know, schmatzy as it is, I really like that tune.

Florida has three. The only one I’m familiar with is Suwannee River.

From Wikipedia  :

Written in the first person from the perspective of a black slave (at a time when slavery was legal in half of the states of the US), the song has its narrator "longing for de old plantation," which has long drawn criticism as romanticizing slavery...
***snip***
A word now long reckoned an ethnic slur, "darkies", that is used in the lyrics has become such an embarrassment for singers and audiences alike...

 Yup, the state which has declared open season on hoodie wearing, Skittle and fruit juice toting black kids, has as it’s state musical emblem, a Minstrel Song written by a wealthy white dude.

From Encyclopedia Britannica:

The earliest minstrel shows were staged by white male minstrels (traveling musicians) who, with their faces painted black, caricatured the singing and dancing of slaves.

From The Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University:

White performers would blacken their faces with burnt cork or greasepaint, dress in outlandish costumes, and then perform songs and skits that mocked African Americans.

 and Wikipedia:

Minstrel shows lampooned black people as dim-witted, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, happy-go-lucky, and musical.

 Way down upon de Swanee Ribber,

Far, far away,

Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,

Dere's wha de old folks stay.

All up and down de whole creation

Sadly I roam,

Still longing for de old plantation,

And for de old folks at home.

Nice lilting tune, hideously cruel history, despicable lyrics. Lovely.

Then there’s the Massachusetts legislature who seem positively music drunk.

We’ve got:
a state anthem: All Hail to Massachusetts
an unofficial state song: The Spirit of America
there’s the state folk song: Massachusetts by Arlo Guthrie  (never heard the tune but...ya know...cool!)
the state ceremonial march: The Road to Boston
and the official YES-we-are-too state patriotic song: Massachusetts (Because of You Our Land is Free)
There’s a state ode—Ode to Massachusetts—as well as an official state glee club song: The Great State of Massachusetts
and a polka: Say Hello to Someone from Massachusetts

What? No state prog rock tune? No official cantata? We can't have a speed metal anthem?

Hells, Ohio doesn’t have much but it DOES have a state ‘rock’ song—Hang on Sloopy by The McCoys
Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town (Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

And everybody, yeah, tries to put my Sloopy down (Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Sloopy, I don't care what your daddy do (Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

'Cause you know, Sloopy, girl, I'm in love with you (Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
And so I sing out

Hang on, Sloopy
Sloopy, 
hang on

 Bubblegum pop but stirring, is it not? Brings a tear to the eye, don't it? What? No?

Oklahoma chose the Rodgers and Hammerstein tune. Nice pick.
One of Tennessee’s ten (!!!) official state songs is The Tennessee Waltz. Yes, I approve.

Virginia’s state song’s been thankfully rescinded. Yup, another minstrel tune Carry Me Back to Old Virginny.

Carry me back to old Virginny.
There's where the cotton and corn and taters grow.
There's where the birds warble sweet in the spring-time.
There's where this old darkey's heart am long'd to go.

They’ve yet to pick a new song.

Most state songs are ones I’ve never heard and not because I'm deaf (for just the last eight or nine years, fyi). They were chosen not for rich, mellifluous tunefulness and state pride. Nope, they were agreed upon by state elected officials for their very dullness—the ability to appeal or NOT to everyone. Picked for inoffensive, hackneyed, banality.

Grand.

A few, wee suggestions for some of the states who truly need some new big audio dynamite goin’ on:

Alabama — As much as I solidly agree with Neil Young, Lynard Skynard’s Sweet Home Alabama  would be a good state song for them.

Alaska — Michele Shocked, Anchorage.  Why? I like it.

Arizona — The Eagles, Take it Easy 

Arkansas — Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Love, love, LOVE this piece!

California — The Mamas and The Papas, California Dreamin.’

Delaware //shrugs// no ideas spring to mind. I think I passed through the state once. Mebbe. zzzzzzzz

Kansas — Dust in the Wind, naturally.

New Jersey doesn’t have a state song and SO needs to adopt one by their most illustrious, best son, Mister Bruce Springsteen. Born in the USA seems perfect to my mind.

Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Got in a little hometown jam so they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land to go and kill the yellow man

The rest of the lyrics at the link

And would it really kill us here in the Great Commonwealth of Massachusetts (god save it!) to have an official punk anthem? My suggestion? Mission of Burma’s That’s When I Reached for My Revolver.

You knew that’d be my pick though. Right?