The Rocky Point Jingle

Courtesy of Warwick Historical Society

Come with your family, come with your friends… that’s the Rocky Point tradition, ’cause it’s summertime again!”

If you call yourself a Rhode Islander, chances are you know that little earworm that dominated the airwaves in the ’80s. I’d even wager it’s stuck in your head right now. But you may not know just why it’s so dang memorable. 

While some people may live by the “don’t-fix-what-ain’t-broke” mentality, Dante Bellini is not one of them. When he was twenty-six, he worked for Fern/Hanaway, a local advertising agency, and was fortunate enough to score one of its biggest accounts: Rocky Point. And he had thoughts. 

“There had been a jingle before that was iconic,” Bellini recalls. “It had played for years and everyone remembered it. It was kids singing. It was pervasive. But it had run its course, and I suggested to the park manager that we do something more in keeping with what the park is now.”

Courtesy of Warwick Historical Society

Two new rides, the Freefall and the Corkscrew roller coaster, were about to debut, and the park was building a reputation for its large rock concerts, various entertainment opportunities and trendy food options. 

The only problem? He didn’t have a solid plan for the new tune. 

But Bellini was no stranger to Rocky Point, having spent many a summer galivanting through the grounds during his younger years, so the words came naturally. Plus, the firm had connections, namely Dan Williams, who ran one of the top jingle-making companies in Nashville with country music star Ronnie Milsap.  

“I remember vividly: I’m on the plane down and I’m feverishly scribbling lyrics for this, having no idea what it was going to sound like ultimately. I was scared witless,” Bellini says.

But there’s a reason Williams is an industry legend (see: “Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener” and “I am stuck on Band-Aid.”) After a little wining and dining and the presentation of the lyrics — which Williams loved and barely tweaked — it was off to the races. 

“He’s known for how fast he works,” Bellini explains. “And this is 1985. Nowadays, when you go into a studio, everything is created digitally. [Back then], all the session players came in: the drummer, guitarist, pianist … all big-name musicians in Nashville. And then this woman comes in for the lead vocals — her name is Pam Tillis.”

Country music fans will recognize the name and know she would go on to be even more famous than her father, country singer Mel Tillis — and understand why those “Rocky Point!” vocals are crazy catchy. 

“I brought it back and it just kicked ass,” Bellini says. “Everything that had been done prior to me getting involved was very vanilla. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was just benign. Happy and sappy stuff. Then when I did this, it still retained a family vibe, but it was much edgier. So, it played a lot, and people generally loved it.

…Rocky Point, it’s so exciting,
Rocky Point, where you can come alive, Rocky Point, you’re all
invited to share our summertime…
Rock-ee-Point!

“It became the sound of summer by just sheer frequency,” he adds. 

But at the time, Bellini, now a local filmmaker, had no way of knowing just how much the song would resonate, or that most locals would still be able to easily (and enthusiastically) recite it word-for-word all these years later. 

“I handled a lot of national clients, and no one is going to remember that you did a spot for Ross-
Simons or for the U.S. Air Force,” he says. “It’s just ether. But people will remember me mostly for things like this. I mean, it’s a good feeling, right? You are contributing to a legacy of history.”