Recorded by Billy Joe Royal and penned by Robert Nix and Billy Gilmore, \"Cherry Hill Park\"
reached the #15 spot on both the Cash Box and Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1969. The song is a
suggestive story about the morals of a local girl and those of the guys that idolized her. Although the Cherry Hill Park in the song never existed, some local radio stations refused to play it, and the
residents of Cherry Hill, New, Jersey weren't happy about it either. During a interview, Royal was
asked about the inspiration for the song and he said a friend of his once visited Philadelphia and
mentioned seeing Cherry Hill, New Jersey in the distance and casually commented \"hey, Cherry
Hill, 'merry' hill\". The reference somehow made it's way into the lyrics of the song as the main
character, \"Mary\" Hill.
