UNION CITY — The City of Union City, Mayor Brian P. Stack and Board of Commissioners announced on Friday that the City of Union City now has an official song. The song, “Union City,” composed be Mike Boldt and Phil Gallo, was named by resolution as the City’s official song at the Union City Board of Commissioners meeeting held this past Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at Colin Powell School.
The recording is performed by the group Dez Manku, which features both Boldt and Gallo. The accompanying music video was produced and edited by Mauro De Trizio for Action Productions and can be seen at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuUzmqHpeG8
The song is now available on iTunes.
The Board of Commisssioners felt the song, with it’s positive and nostalgic message, along with the work on the music video, represented the city, its people, and its history.
The city has done much to revitalize the local arts. In recent years, the city has named an Art Curator, Poet Laureate, City Historian, and formed both a Union City Artist Collective and a Historical Committee. In addition, the City has opened an Art Museum and a Historical Museum; a Historical Marker program; and various plazas celebrating the arts and Union City’s rich history. They run art exhibits at City Hall and at the Musto center.
“Dez Manku” is the creation of Mike Boldt and Phil Gallo. Their first musical endeavor goes back to 1998 when they both worked on the music score for the hard hitting film, “West New York” directed by Phil Gallo. The feature starred Frank Vincent and Vincent Pastore, veteran actors from Martin Scorcese’s “Goodfellas” and “The Sopranos
Phil Gallo, formerly a resident of Weehawken, has done numerous soundtracks including the feature film, “Mother’s Day” with Clem Vicari. This collaboration operated under the name “Sleight of Hand” which eventually led to other soundtrack projects including a few parody commercials for “Saturday Night Live.”
Mike Boldt, who was born and raised in Union City, has written songs that have appeared on Columbia and Capitol Records and has recorded three solo albums, “James Bond and Beyond,” “Tribute to John Wayne’s The Alamo” and “Victory or Death.” He won a Telly Award for Best Music Score for the DVD, “At the Alamo”.
Does your Hudson County town have an official song? What should it be? What should Hoboken’s song be? (Something by Sinatra?) How about Jersey City?