Many people watching the Democratic National Convention roll call on Tuesday night were surprised to hear the song that blasted through the arena when Wyoming’s delegates pledged their support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee.
To many people’s surprise, “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas was played as the Cowboy State had its brief time in the national spotlight.
A different song was played for each U.S. state and territory during the roll call.
State Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, one of Wyoming’s delegates, said “I Gotta Feeling” was not one of the song choices that Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Joe Barbuto had suggested to the DNC.
Nevertheless, that’s what played as Barbuto announced their commitment to Harris.
“I was more excited about the message he (Barbuto) gave and the energy we gave than about the song,” Yin said.
Repeated Cowboy State Daily requests for which songs Wyoming suggested weren’t answered by publication time.
Slighted?
Nearly all the songs had some type of connection to the state they were played for.
Massachusetts got a punk song about Boston. Kansas was represented by a song from the band Kansas. Minnesota’s roll call was to Prince, as the pop superstar spent much of his life there.
But there is no known connection of any kind between the 2009 dance hit “I Gotta Feeling" or the Black Eyed Peas and Wyoming.
“I wouldn’t have suggested that song,” Yin said.
If the song was in reference to the musical host of the evening, DJ Cassidy, “having a feeling” that Wyoming will vote for Harris in the upcoming presidential election, he’s making quite a leap of faith. The state hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since 1964, and in 2020 and 2016 voted for former President Donald Trump by a larger margin than any other state.
It’s not that country-western tunes weren’t on the playlist during the roll call either.
For instance, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” was played for that southern state, while “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” was played for West Virginia.
Wyoming suffered the same fate as a few other states and territories like Maine and Guam that reportedly had their song choices snubbed.
DJ Cassidy told the New York Post on Wednesday that other picks — like Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” for Maryland, Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” for Connecticut and Wyoming’s song choice (whatever it was) — were more about the flow of music during the 75-minute show.
“So when there was an opportunity for a state to collaborate with me on a song, when there was an opportunity where there wasn’t necessarily a sure-shot obvious song, I posed … a master list of songs that I thought exuded the emotion of the night, and in several cases, I was able to, you know, put some of those songs into the puzzle,” he said.
15 Seconds Of Fame
When announcing that the 17 Wyoming delegates cast their votes for Harris, Barbuto mentioned how the state was the first to give women the right to vote and elect a female governor.
“With that legacy at mind and heart, the Equality State casts all of our votes for the woman who’s going to be the first woman president of the United States, say it with me now, Kamala Harris,” Barbuto yelled.
Cheering in the background was state Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, Yin, Hot Springs County Democratic Party Chairman Kim Bartlett, and Albany County Democratic Party State Committeewoman Artemis Langford.
Yin said the energy of the moment greatly overshadowed any disappointment that the DNC didn’t pick a song that was more emblematic of Wyoming’s western heritage and rural culture.
“The roll call was a really exciting and energetic time for the delegates to represent their states,” Yin said. “Even if we weren’t able to pick our song, it allowed us the opportunity for the Equality State and Cowboy State to be noticed on a national level.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
