An Evening of Humanism in Music

Scenes from the 1st NJHN Music Contest

Humanists love a good song as much as anyone else. But how much music do you hear performed in concert that carries lyrics expressing the ideas and values that inspire a Humanist? On June 16th, 2001, we had that opportunity.

In an effort to enlarge the body of Humanist music, the New Jersey Humanist Network sponsored its first Humanist Music Contest. We were delighted with the high production quality, variety of musical styles, and contemporary appeal of the songs that were entered into the contest. Selecting a winner was difficult, and we wished we could have given out more prizes.

The winning song was "Love is the Only Priest" by Gerry Dantone, which is an upbeat rock-and-roll tune that makes you want to dance and sing along with lyrics proclaiming that happiness is the only heaven and reason is the only light we need.

Second prize went to Greg James for the song "For the Love of Humanity", a haunting song full of complex rhythms that tells us that we must live our love in the here and now.

Honorable mentions went to Ned Davis and Pop Canon for the jazzy and humorous "Ballyhoo" and to Ed Poll for the beautiful ballad "The Human Heart".

The New Jersey Humanist Network wishes to thank all the contest entrants, and we hope that their music will greatly help to spread the message of Humanism, especially to young people.

Master of Ceremonies Harley Brown

The Little Old Ladies In Tennis Shoes

NJHN Singers

Gerry Dantone and UniversalDice.com

Greg James