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25 Great Musicians From New Jersey For Your Wedding Playlist

27 August 2018

In recent years, Charleston, SC continues to stay up near the top as one of the most popular wedding destinations in the country. Couples come from all over to exchange vows using the Holy City of Charleston as their beautiful and romantic backdrop. Mike Bills Entertainment is one of Charleston's Best Wedding DJs that has forged a reputation over the years of being very hospitable when it comes to working with destination wedding couples coming down for the biggest day of their lives. Most brides and grooms eat up the private online portal that is created when they book which allow them to gather all the details of their wedding day, as well as their music in the privacy of their own homes, no matter how far away they are from Charleston. During the past several years that Charleston has grown as a leading wedding destination location in the United States, there have been certain geographical areas that have shown more interest than others. Some of the more popular areas that couples travel from are the Mid-Atlantic area, the Midwest, and the Northeast states. Based on web searches and traffic to my website, brides and grooms from New Jersey love to travel to Charleston to get married.

That being said, there is no better way to bring your family and friends down to Charleston from New Jersey than an early start in creating your wedding playlist. As one of the top wedding DJs in the Charleston, SC area, music is my passion and will be my sole focus in making sure you and your guests coming down to this beautiful city from the Garden State has the best party ever. There are lots of my couples who come to Charleston to get married who add some "geographical" flavor to their wedding playlists. In this blog post, we'll explore some of the great musicians who have their origins from the Garden State of New Jersey, You'll see that some of these artists are in heavy rotation and show up on many Charleston wedding playlists.

Download This List Of Talented New Jersey Musicians From Spotify NOW
Charleston Wedding DJ Mike Bills is NOW On Spotify. Perhaps you are planning a destination wedding and you live in New Jersey, but want to have some of the best musicians from the Garden State on your playist. You can head over to Spotify right now and get this playlist. Just search for DJ Mike Bills and you will have this playlist, as well as lots and lots of others that are designed to give you the inspiration you need when creating the best soundtrack for your wedding day.

Bruce Springsteen
Born in 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey, you can find him on Broadway in 2018. He achieved superstar status in the mid 1970s with his "Born To Run" album, and "Born In The USA" in 1984. "The Boss" as he is called has seen many notable songs added to wedding playlists including "Hungry Heart" and "Dancing In The Dark".  I've actually used "Born To Run" as a recessional song at one of my wedding ceremonies over the years.  "When You Need Me" has also been an excellent choice by The Boss for the father / daughter dance song.

Frank Sinatra
They are pretty rare, but a Charleston wedding reception playlist without Sinatra could be described as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the peanut butter. Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey back in 1915 and became one of the greatest musical artists of all time. His music is still very popular during cocktail hours and dinner time at Charleston weddings.

Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is the pride of Sayreville, New Jersey.  He formed his band Bon Jovi in 1983 which became one of the biggest rock bands of all time. In 1986, the band would release their multi-platinum album "Slippery When Wet", which would have the song below on it and become their first Number 1 on the rock charts. 

Whitney Houston
Before we get into the 4th musicial artist on this post, take a look at those first 3: Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, and Jon Bon Jovi.  It's pretty what I said up above about some of the biggest musicians from New Jersey on wedding playlists in Charleston. Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey back in 1963. I still remember when Whitney Houston broke on the radio back in the mid 80s. Her self titled album released in 1985 started a storied career for her becoming one of the greatest female singers of all time. She would be the only artists to have 7 straight Number 1 songs. She died way too soon in 2012 at the age of 48, but her music will live on.

Nancy Sinatra
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1940, Nancy Sinatra is the oldest daughter of the great Frank Sinatra. Her biggest hit came in 1966 with "These Boots Are Made For Walking", but you might consider this classic from 1962 released on her father's Reprise Record label.

Paul Simon
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1941, Paul Simon began his musical career in one of the most popular duo's; Simon & Garfunkel.  After they broke up in the early 70s, Paul Simon started a very successful solo career and released "Graceland" in 1986. The song you see down below has been a popular choice at Charleston weddings over the years for a mother / son dance.

Frankie Valli
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1934, Frankie Valli had a very successful career with the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. In 1967, he had one of his biggest hits (as a solo artist). Take a listen to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" down below, and you'll see why it's still in heavy rotation at Charleston weddings.

Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill was born in East Orange, New Jersey in 1975 and was an integral member of The Fugees.  I listed her right after Frankie Valli because she happened to do an amazing cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". In 1998, she released "The MIseducation Of Lauryn Hill", which featured the song you see down below.

Sugarhill Gang
Originating from Englewood, New Jersey, the Sugarhill Gang is still showing up on request lists from brides and grooms at Charleston weddings. Their song "Rapper's Delight" was the first song by a rap artist to be featured on the Hot 100 charts. The full version to the song is just under 15 minutes, so I posted the edited version that will keep you on the dance floor for just over 7 minutes.

Kool & The Gang
Kool & The Gang came from Jersey City, New Jersey and reached the height of their commercial success in the early - mid 80s. While "Celebration" has waned in it's popularity over the past several years, "Get Down It" and "Jungle Boogie" are still heavy requests.

Donald Fagen
Donald Fagen was co-founder of the band Steely Dan. Steely Dan was rated Number 82 on VH1's greatest musicians of all time. Steely Dan has constantly showed up on cocktail hour and dinner music playlists over the years. Born in Passaic, New Jersey in 1948, Fagen is the only remaining member, after the passing of Walter Becker in 2017.

The Shirelles
The Shirelles were also from Passaic, New Jersey and took a song written by Carole King in 1960 all the way to Number 1. They were the first all-black female group to accomplish that feat. Carole King would release a version of the song in 1971.

PM Dawn
There was some great R&B and hip hop coming out of Jersey City, New Jersey back in the late 80s. Back in late November 1991, PM Dawn would have the Number 1 song in America. Take a listen to it down below.

Blues Traveler
Formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987, the music of Blues Traveler would be a great addition to a cocktail hour that is in need of a little splash of 90s rock. "Runaround" became their signature song and one of the most popular songs of the 90s peaing at #4 on the adult contemporary chart.

Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers were a pop band out of Wyckoff, New Jersey that were formed back in 2005.  Fast forward to 2019, "Sucker" was released in the spring and became one of the most popular songs of the year.

Gloria Gaynor
Can I be honest? I am not a fan of playing "I Will Survive" at a wedding. It's meaning isn't exactly wedding material but her disco cover of "Never Can Say Goodbye" might be a better choice for the dance floor. 

Dionne Warwick
Born in Orange, New Jersey, her cousin was the great Whitney Houston.  Dionne Warwick had quite the career from the mid 60s into the 70s, and had songs into the 80s on the radio. "I Say A Little Prayer" might just be her signature song. The song was released at the end of 1967 and would peak at #5 on the Cash Box Top 100.

Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. She released her first album in 1989, which featured her big hit called "Ladies First".  She's considered one of the first women of hip hop. 

The Smithereens
The Smithereens are a rock band originating from Carteret, New Jersey. For those brides and grooms who might want an 80s Rock Cocktail Hour, you might add the song "A Girl Like You" to your playlist.

Halsey
Born in 1994 in the great city of Edison, New Jersey, Halsey got the attention when she released a lot of her music on social media before she got a record deal.  In "Closer", she collaborated with the Chainsmokers and scored a #1 song. "Closer" became one of the biggest songs at weddings in 2016 and 2017 and is still in rotation on a lot of wedding playlists.

Naughty By Nature
Based out of East Orange, New Jersey, their first single "OPP" was released in 1991. At the end of 1992, they released the album 19 Naughty III, which featured Hip Hop Hooray, which would make it all the Number 1 on the Hot Rap Charts in 1993.

Fetty Wap
Born in Patterson, Fetty Wap scored one of the most popular songs of 2015 with his Number 2 song "Trap Queen".  His debut album, which was self titled reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Trap Queen" grew in popularity that it became one of the most requested songs at weddings all over the country.

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
When Frankie Valli wasn't singing beautiful songs like "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", he was with the Four Seasons and created great dance songs like "December 1963, Oh What A Night". Released at the end of 1975, the song would make it all the way to #4 on the Hot 100, and re-emerge in 1994 and peak at #6 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.

Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill was part of The Fugees until she released her breakthrough album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. "Doo Wop (That Thing)" was the first single to be released from the album and would make it all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the Hot Rap chart.

Bon Jovi
Long before Jon Bon Jovi ever thought about singing country charts, he formed one of the most popular 80s and 90s Rock Bands. Originating from the middle of the state in Sayreville, NJ, Bon Jovi wrote one of the most requested rock songs at a lot of my weddings. Click on the link inside the song title or find this playlist over on my Spotify.

Wanna See If Mike Is Available To Be Your Charleston Wedding DJ?
 Whether you are from the great state of New Jersey or any other location, Charleston, SC will continue to welcome many couples in 2019 and beyond. Hope you enjoyed this exploration of musical artists from one of the most popular states where brides and grooms originate before they are married in beautiful Charleston. Are you recently engaged and looking to begin planning your Charleston wedding? Is music one of the biggest parts of you and your fiance's lives? I love talking to newly engaged couples about what they would like to be on their Charleston wedding playlist. The music you hear on your wedding day should be one of the most important parts of your wedding planning. Click the link up above to be sent over to my contact form so you can provide some of the basic details for your wedding day.