It's as much a part of "The Miss America Pageant" as the roses and the crown, but the song that begins, "There she is, Miss America" won't be part of future pageants.
Miss America Organization Vice President Sharon Pearce confirmed the news to the Press of Atlantic City. The New Jersey newspaper is based in the pageant's traditional hometown.
The song was written by the late Bernie Wayne. His widow, Phyllis, filed a lawsuit in 2012 accusing the pageant of not properly licensing the song for the 2011 and 2012 events. The case was dismissed when the parties reached a confidential settlement in December 2012, but terms of that settlement have not been disclosed.
The song was not played at the 2013 pageant, held on the Las Vegas Strip. The pageant will return to Atlantic City in September, though it will be called the 2014 pageant.
The song's lyrics include, "There she is, Miss America! There she is, your ideal. The dreams of a million girls who are more than pretty, may come true in Atlantic City."
It's not the first time the song has slipped out of the pageant. It wasn't played for three years in the 1980s due to a contract dispute, The Press of Atlantic City notes.
Wayne wrote the song in 1955 while sitting in a New York barber's chair, the paper reported after a 1990 interview with the songwriter. It was used that year in the television movie "The Miss America Story" and host Bert Parks began singing it at the competition.
Wayne is perhaps most famous for writing the 1950 hit "Blue Velvet."