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"On The Way To Cape May" is a song by Maurice "Buddy" Nugent. It is a Jersey Shore sound summertime anthem for the Philadelphia, Delaware Valley, and South Jersey areas.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2024) |
"On The Way To Cape May" is a song by Maurice "Buddy" Nugent. It is a Jersey Shore sound summertime anthem for the Philadelphia, Delaware Valley, and South Jersey areas.
The song circulated from one band to another around Cape May County in the second half of the 20th century. Early versions were sung by singers like Daddy Beans and Don Cornell. Cozy Morley popularized it among his large local following. [1] Al Alberts recorded it and increased its broadcast exposure on local radio and TV. [2]
The song has been played through a variety of 21st-century radios, including XM, Internet and Delaware Valley AM and FM.
The lyrics are about a love story and journey which begins with the intro mentioning Ocean City. Traveling southward, they mention of Sea Isle City, Avalon, Stone Harbor, and Wildwood leading to talks of marriage around the town of Cape May Court House. While Cape May is the destination in the lyrics, the song's theme is more about the journey through Cape May County.
Comedian Cozy Morley, who owned Club Avalon, a nightclub in North Wildwood from 1958-89 and where a life-size statue of him now stands in front of the site of the club (which was demolished in 1989 and is now Westy's Irish Pub), made "On the Way to Cape May" his signature song and performed it many times during his acts in the Philadelphia and South Jersey areas. Morley lived in Haddon Township, New Jersey and retired to North Wildwood. He and his wife Bobbie also owned a home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on the Cape May peninsula, bound by the Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are five barrier islands that have been built up as seaside resorts. A consistently popular summer destination with 30 miles (48 km) of beaches, Cape May County attracts vacationers from New Jersey and surrounding states, with the summer population exceeding 750,000. Tourism generates annual revenues of about $6.6 billion as of 2018, making it the county's single largest industry. The associated leisure and hospitality industries are Cape May's largest employers. Its county seat is the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township. The county is part of both the Jersey Shore and South Jersey regions of the state.
Avalon is a borough in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on Seven Mile Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,243, a decrease of 91 (−6.8%) from the 2010 census count of 1,334, which in turn declined by 809 (−37.8%) from the 2,143 counted in the 2000 census. The borough's population swells to as many as 45,000 during the summer.
Cape May is a city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean near the mouth of the Delaware Bay, it is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. The city, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area. It is the southernmost municipality in New Jersey.
North Wildwood is a city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city and all of Cape May County are part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,621, a decrease of 420 (−10.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,041, which in turn had reflected a decline of 894 (−18.1%) from the 4,935 counted at the 2000 census. North Wildwood is home to the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse.
Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's year-round population was 5,157, a decrease of 168 (−3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 5,325, which in turn reflected a decline of 111 (−2.0%) from the 5,436 counted in the 2000 census. A popular Jersey Shore resort destination, the population can swell to 250,000 during the summer. Wildwood was the first city in New Jersey to have a female mayor, Doris W. Bradway, who was ousted in a 1938 recall election.
Wildwood Crest is a borough in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,101, a decrease of 169 (−5.2%) from the 2010 census count of 3,270, which in turn reflected a decline of 710 (−17.8%) from the 3,980 counted in the 2000 census.
The Delaware Valley, sometimes referred to as Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia metropolitan area, or Philadelphia tri-state area, is a major metropolitan and tri-state region in Northeast United States that centers on Philadelphia, the 6th-most populous city in the United States, and spans part of three states: Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Northern Delaware. With a core of metropolitan statistical area population of 6.288 million residents, while the combined statistical area population of 7.366 million, Delaware Valley is the eighth-largest metropolitan region in the United States and the 68th-largest metropolitan region in the world.
The Jersey Shore, commonly referred to locally as simply the Shore, is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about 141 miles (227 km) of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Point in the south. The region includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties, which are in the central and southern parts of the state. Located in the center of the Northeast Megalopolis, the northern half of the shore region is part of the New York metro area, while the southern half of the shore region is part of the Philadelphia metro area. The Jersey Shore hosts the highest concentration of oceanside boardwalks in the United States.
Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The southernmost point in both New Jersey and the northeastern United States lies on the cape. A number of resort communities line the Atlantic side of the cape, including Ocean City, the most populous community on the cape, The Wildwoods, known for its architecturally significant hotel district, and the city of Cape May, which has served as a resort community since the mid-1700s, making it the oldest such resort in the U.S.
Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately 782 square miles (2,030 km2) in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean.
South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, and Central Jersey or North Jersey to its north, depending on the definition of North Jersey.
WMGM-TV is a television station licensed to Wildwood, New Jersey, United States, affiliated with the True Crime Network. It is owned by TelevisaUnivision alongside Vineland, New Jersey–licensed Univision owned-and-operated station WUVP-DT and Philadelphia-based low-power, Class A UniMás outlet WFPA-CD. The stations share studios on North Delsea Drive in Vineland, while WMGM-TV's transmitter is located along Avalon Boulevard in Swainton.
Ocean Drive is a series of local toll roads in southern New Jersey, connecting Atlantic City to Cape May along barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of several roads and includes all five drawbridges owned by the Cape May County Bridge Commission.
Al Alberts was an American popular singer and composer.
The Wildwoods are a group of five communities in Cape May County, New Jersey. These are situated on the Island of Five Mile Beach, a barrier island facing the Atlantic Ocean. These Jersey Shore communities have relatively small year-round populations that swell significantly during the summer with vacationers.
The Sightseers Tram Car is a trackless train service running on the Boardwalk in the Cape May County, New Jersey communities of Wildwood and North Wildwood. The service, which began on June 11, 1949, takes passengers along the two-mile long Wildwood Boardwalk. Service is available at all points along the boardwalk, from the beginning at Cresse Avenue to the end at 16th Avenue in North Wildwood.
WZXL is a radio station also known as "South Jersey's Rock Station", playing mainstream rock. WZXL is licensed to Wildwood, New Jersey.
The Cape May Historic District is an area of 380 acres (1.5 km2) with over 600 buildings in the resort town of Cape May, Cape May County, New Jersey. The city claims to be America's first seaside resort and has numerous buildings in the Late Victorian style, including the Eclectic, Stick, and Shingle styles, as well as the later Bungalow style, many with gingerbread trim. According to National Park Service architectural historian Carolyn Pitts, "Cape May has one of the largest collections of late 19th century frame buildings left in the United States... that give it a homogeneous architectural character, a kind of textbook of vernacular American building."
The Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet was an important, early naval victory for the Continental Navy and the future "Father of the American Navy", Captain John Barry. It was the first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War. The battle resulted in the first American casualty of the war in New Jersey, Lieutenant Richard Wickes, brother of Captain Lambert Wickes. It was the only Revolutionary War battle fought in Cape May County.
Thomas Francis "Cozy" Morley was an American singer-songwriter, entertainer, comedian and club owner, best known for his rendition of "On the Way to Cape May", which became his signature song.