NJArts.net celebrated its 10th anniversary, Sept. 15.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of NJArts.net (which took place on Sept. 15), I am sharing, on Facebook, the 25 posts of ours that have been seen the most, over those 10 years, with some comments about why each one of them did so well.
I have been sharing one a day; I started, Sept. 15, at the top.
In this post, I will share the links, and my write-ups, adding them as they are posted (so this post will not be complete until Oct. 9.
Here are the posts:
1. The Beatles’ most misunderstood song: ‘In My Life’ (Feb. 21, 2019)
This post on The Beatles “In My Life” — which I got the idea to do when reviewing a production of “My Very Own British Invasion” at The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn — is No. 1 by far, with more than 136,000 “hits” since being posted in 2019. And it is still going strong, generally getting around 50 hits a day with no promotion at all. I guess people keep doing web searches for this song, trying to learn more about it, and this post keeps on coming up.
As a general rule, I have found that posts about The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen do very well — in part, I assume, to the well-developed internet fan networks devoted to sharing any and all news about them.
Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty and others perform at a party in 1995.
2. John Stamos shares private video of Fogerty, Springsteen performing at 1995 party (WATCH HERE) (April 9, 2020)
This post probably took me about five minutes to write. I was just, basically, sharing a cool video I came across on Facebook. But note the date of publication. People were at home because of the pandemic, not knowing what to do, and spending a lot of time on their computers.
2020 remains the best year for traffic, ever, for NJArts.net, for that reason. (And our worst year for advertising revenue, since most of our advertisers are arts venues, and they suspended their advertising because their shows were cancelled or postponed. Some sites have all the luck.)
3. Who’s who on Bruce Springsteen’s current E Street Band tour (Feb. 2, 2023)
This post, from February 2023, is very basic. Bruce Springsteen was starting a tour, and people were wondering who was in the expanded version of the E Street Band that accompanied him. So I put together a post identifying everyone, and giving a little information about them. The post has received steady hits daily since then, especially when Springsteen has a show and people, presumably, do a web search after it, trying to figure out who they were seeing.
BUCKY PIZZARELLI
4. Legendary guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli dies at 94 (April 1, 2020)
Bucky Pizzarelli is not the most famous musician that NJArts.net has posted an obituary about. But I believe this was the first public notice of the death of a musician who was widely loved and respected, especially among New Jersey music fans. And it was posted in early April 2020: As in the No. 2 post, above, the increase in web traffic, due to people being at home and watching the Internet closely, had a lot to do with it being so widely seen.
5. New fan-made documentary explores Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ triumph (June 4, 2021)
Dennis Laverty is an amateur filmmaker who makes thoroughly detailed music documentaries, using previously available but often rare film and video footage, photos, newspaper clips and posters. He does not release these films commercially, but makes them available for free on the internet. This 2021 post, about his two-part, seven-part exploration of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” Era, is fifth on our most-seen list.
6. Bruce Springsteen’s next album will be titled ‘Letter to You’ (Sept. 9, 2020)
This post got so many views mainly because — through the help of a source who will remain unnamed — I was able include the track listing for Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You album. This was the first time the names of the songs were available publicly, and the names were particularly intriguing to hardcore Springsteen fans because three of them (“If I Was the Priest,” “Song for Orphans,” “Janey Needs a Shooter”) were of decades-old but previously unreleased songs.
7. Springsteen, Bon Jovi, others make NJ Pandemic Relief Fund video (WATCH HERE)
As I’ve mentioned in previous items, the height of the pandemic also represented the height of traffic for the site. This post (from March 24, 2020) simply shared a short video — featuring Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg and others — publicizing the newly created New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.
8. 30 Shore musicians record ‘Waitin’ on a Sunny Day’ to benefit Asbury Park Music Foundation
Like several previous posts, this is from the early months of the pandemic (April 30, 2020), sharing news about a cool local project.
Paul McCartney at Hudson House in Jersey City.
9. Paul McCartney sings ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ at Jersey City’s Hudson House (WATCH VIDEO)
Unlike some other websites, NJArts.net will never do a post about a celebrity sighted eating at a New Jersey restaurant or getting ice cream at a New Jersey ice cream stand. However, when Paul McCartney jumps onstage to sing with a band at a New Jersey restaurant, and a video surfaces online … that’s another story. This post is from November 2019, when McCartney sang “I Saw Her Standing Here” at a private event at Hudson House in Jersey City.
10. Don Winslow teases new anti-Trump video made with Bruce Springsteen
This post shared the momentous (in certain circles) news that Bruce Springsteen had granted permission for his “Streets of Philadelphia” to be used in a Pennsylvania-themed anti-Trump ad, in October 2020. When the video was released, I updated the post with a link to it (and it remains as relevant as ever!).
11: Springsteen covered by women: The best of the best
The site had been running for just a few months when I decided to put together a post simply compiling some of my favorite Bruce Springsteen covers by women, including Joan Jett, Melissa Etheridge, Emmylou Harris, Bettye LaVette and Nicole Atkins. Fifteen of them. It did so well that I that I made it into a series with six more installments through 2021, with 150 songs in all. But this first post is the one that did the best, hit-wise.
12. Springsteen and Mellencamp sing ‘Pink Houses’ and ‘Glory Days’ together (WATCH VIDEOS) (njarts.net)
This one comes from 2019, when Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp sang a couple of songs together at a Rainforest Fund benefit organized by Sting at The Beacon Theatre in New York.
13. Bruce Springsteen will welcome guests Steven Van Zandt and Southside Johnny on SiriusXM DJ show
This post, from June 2020, shared the big news (among Bruce Springsteen fans) that the next show in his SiriusXM DJ series “From My Home to Yours” was going to feature guest appearances by Stevie Van Zandt and Southside Johnny.
14. Springsteen joins Coldplay for two songs at MetLife Stadium (WATCH VIDEO)
Tom Jones and Janis Joplin, singing together in 1969.
15. Tom Jones’ Top 25 duets: Janis Joplin, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, CSNY and more
This is a fun one. As a way of previewing a Tom Jones concert in Atlantic City, I put together 25 cool YouTube videos of him dueting with other artists (many are from his 1969-71 TV variety show “This Is Tom Jones”). You can see him singing with Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, CSNY (!), Stevie Wonder, Dusty Springfield and others.
16. Taylor Swift at MetLife Stadium (60 Photos)
I reviewed Taylor Swift at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford in the summer of 2023, and that post did very well, hit-wise. But this separate post, sharing a gallery of photos by Valerie Terranova, did spectacularly.
17. ‘Slip Away,’ David Bowie’s Uncle Floyd tribute
In 2014 and 2015, the site ran a series called “350 Jersey Songs.” In honor of the state’s 350th anniversary, we shared a song a day that were by a NJ artist, or recorded in NJ, or had something to NJ. This post — explaining the connection of David Bowie’s “Slip Away” to New Jersey’s own beloved “Uncle” Floyd Vivino — got the most hits of any in the series.
18: Little Steven and Disciples of Soul play jailhouse rock in ‘The Christmas Chronicles’
MICHAEL J. STAHL
RICHARD THOMPSON
19. Richard Thompson’s winding road leads to Montclair
Cindy Stagoff’s fascinating in-depth interview with Richard Thompson, from 2019, covering his career, his recent music, his memoir, songwriting, spirituality, his move to Montclair and more.
20. New anti-Trump video is set to Springsteen’s ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ (WATCH HERE)
This was posted four years ago, during the last presidential election season, and is just as relevant as it was then.
21: Kenneth Womack seeks to ‘set the record straight’ with book about Beatles associate Mal Evans
This post, written by my former Star-Ledger boss Rosemary Parrillo, offered an early, pre-publication look at Beatles expert and Monmouth University professor Kenneth Womack’s book “Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans,” which told the story of one of the most important behind-the-scenes figures in Beatles history, and was of much interest to Beatles fans.
22. Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City: Complete list of ’70s shows
Posted in January of this year, this one listed all the concerts that took place between 1972 and 1976 at Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium. Lots of people have good memories of that place!
23: Jim Breuer cancels shows, including one in Montclair, over venues’ vaccination policies
A post about Stevie Van Zandt’s participation in the Netflix movie “Christmas Chronicles” is No. 18 on this list. This post, about the sequel, did nearly as well.
25. The Grateful Dead: A complete list of their NJ concerts
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
