Hot 100

The Jersey Sound’s definitive chart spotlighting 100 songs that define, disrupt, and celebrate the Garden State.
100 songs. 100 artists. Let the debate begin…
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Freddy Cannon

The 100 songs by 100 artists are mainly by those who—as we like to say—have called New Jersey home at one point or another in their lives. But, over the course of 2025, we’ve added songs about New Jersey, thus you might see, from time to time, “Jersey Girl,” by Tom Waits of California, that Bruce popularized, or “Woke Up This Morning” by British band Alabama 3, which just happens to be the theme song for The Sopranos (a most Jersey-centric show if there ever was one). This month we add “Palisades Park,” written by the host of The Gong Show, Chuck Barris [1929–2017], about an amusement park in Bergen County that my mom used to take me to when I was a kid. It contains one of the greatest lines in all of rock’n’roll—“you’ll never know how great a kiss can feel until you’re stopped at the top of a ferris wheel.”

Freddy Cannon took it to #3 in 1962. (It debuts on our Hot 100 at #51.) Now 88 and living in California, he’s just released a new song, “Everybody’s Rockin’ Tonight,” which is just as good and rockin’ as “Palisades Park” and “Tallahassee Lassie,” his 1959 hit that the Rolling Stones covered. Cannon appeared on American Bandstand 110 times. Thanks go out to Joey Dee—whose “Peppermint Twist” goes from #27 to #24—for calling to alert us to Freddy’s new song.

1
This Land Is Your Land
Woody Guthrie
Same as Last Month
2
My City Of Ruins
Bruce Springsteen
Same as Last Month
3
Sun City
Artists United Against Apartheid
Same as Last Month
4
I Will Survive
Gloria Gaynor
▲ Last Month: 8
5
Graceland
Paul Simon
NEW
6
Because The Night
Patti Smith Group
▲ Last Month: 18
7
Woke Up This Morning
Alabama 3
Same as Last Month
8
I Will Always Love You
Whitney Houston
▼ Last Month: 6
9
Talk To Me
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
▼ Last Month: 5
10
Fly Me To The Moon
Frank Sinatra
▼ Last Month: 4

What do you think of this month’s picks?

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Chart continues below ↓

# Song / Artist Previous
11
Big Girls Don't Cry
The Four Seasons
▼ 8
12
Jungle Boogie
Kool & The Gang
▼ 10
13
I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore
The Young Rascals
NEW
14
Poetry Man
Phoebe Snow
▼ 12
15
At 17
Janis Ian
▼ 13
16
The Sound Of Silence
Simon & Garfunkel
NEW
17
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Bon Jovi
▼ 15
18
Bitter Fruit
Stevie Van Zandt
▼ 16
19
Isn't It A Pity
Bettye LaVette
SAME
20
It Might As Well Be Spring
Sarah Vaughan
SAME
21
You Don't Own Me
Leslie Gore
SAME
22
Ladies First
Queen Latifah
SAME
23
Pretty Little Baby
Connie Francis
▲ 24
24
Peppermint Twist
Joey Dee & The Starliters
▲ 27
25
Give It To Me Good
Trixter
SAME
26
One O'Clock Jump
Count Basie
NEW
27
Mony Mony
Tommy James & The Shondells
▲ 30
28
One Way Or Another
Blondie
▲ 31
29
The Gang's All Here
Skid Row
▲ 32
30
Blues In The 21st
Jimmy Vivino
▲ 34
31
Bebop Of Course
Christian McBride
▲ 35
32
Rocky Mountain Way
Joe Walsh
▲ 37
33
Rose Covered Glasses
Mike Daly
▲ 39
34
Alfie
Dionne Warwick
▲ 41
35
Twist And Shout
The Isley Brothers
▲ 42
36
Mustang Sally
Wilson Pickett
▲ 43
37
Deep In The Heart Of Jersey
Uncle Floyd
▲ 45
38
La Vida Es Un Carnaval
Celia Cruz
▲ 47
39
Better Than You
Phoneboy
▲ 49
40
Always She Calls To Me
Bruce Gladstone
▲ 51
41
I Wanna Be Around
Tony Bennett
NEW
42
Interstate Love Song
Stone Temple Pilots
SAME
43
When You Walk In The Room
Steve Forbert
▲ 66
44
Rhapsody In Blues (One For Jeff)
Ricky Byrd
▲ 73
45
Anything Anything I'll Give You
Dramarama
NEW
46
Fu Gee La
The Fugees
▼ 23
47
Funk #49
The James Gang
▼ 38
48
Lost Ones
Lauryn Hill
NEW
49
The Skin I'm In
Blues People
NEW
50
Bent
Rhonette Smith
NEW
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# Song / Artist Previous
51
Palisades Park
Freddy Cannon
NEW
52
Jersey Girl
Tom Waits
NEW
53
Rapper's Delight
Sugar Hill Gang
SAME
54
100 K In L.A. (Adderall Mimosas)
Unicorn 151
NEW
55
Buffen It
Mark Mulch
NEW
56
Salt Peanuts
Dizzy Gillespie
SAME
57
Bass Key Boogie
Johnny Iguana
NEW
58
Colors
Ice-T
SAME
59
Chocolate Jesus
Eddie Skuller
NEW
60
The Married Men
The Roche Sisters
SAME
61
Back Door Betty
Billy Ray & The Bad Boys
NEW
62
Up Here
Brendan Brophy
NEW
63
Celestial Yard
Patriarchs In Black
NEW
64
Oceans Of Kansas
Lily Vakili
NEW
65
Cover Band Town
Todd Bailey
NEW
66
Rockabye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody
Jerry Lewis
NEW
67
The Night Fly
Donald Fagen
NEW
68
In A Lonely Place
The Smithereens
SAME
69
Real
Rory D'Lasnow
SAME
70
Numbers With Wings
The Bongos
SAME
71
Rotten To The Core
Overkill
▲ 100
72
Send It To Me
Williams Honor
▲ 99
73
All Fall Down
Richard Barone
▲ 97
74
Hip Hip Hooray
Naughty By Nature
▲ 83
75
I Wanna Get Better
Bleachers
SAME
76
Hey Now Baby (What's Wrong With You)
J. Howard Duff
▲ 90
77
Runaround
Blues Traveler
▲ 86
78
Brooklyn Can Wait
Jake Thistle
▲ 85
79
I'm Not OK (I Promise)
My Chemical Romance
▲ 84
80
Short Shorts
The Royal Teens
▲ 82
81
I'm Hip
John Pizzarelli
▼ 74
82
C'mon Caroline
Bobby Bandiera
▼ 72
83
You Enjoy Yourself
Phish
▼ 71
84
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
Les Paul
▼ 26
85
Old Shoes
The Cucumbers
▼ 67
86
I Feel Lucky
Mary-Chapin Carpenter
▼ 65
87
Do Don't
Fear Of Falling
▼ 64
88
My Old School
Steely Dan
▼ 62
89
The Romantic Warrior
Return To Forever
NEW
90
Spazmo Strikes Again
Lenny White
▼ 59
91
Freedom
Richie Havens
▼ 55
92
Pegasus
Wayne Shorter
▼ 54
93
Mexicali Waltz
Southside Johnny & The Poor Fools
▼ 52
94
Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Old Oak Tree
Tony Orlando & Dawn
▼ 50
95
Crow Haired Boys
The Cynz
▼ 48
96
Old Man River
Paul Robeson
▼ 46
97
Brand New Key
Melanie
▼ 36
98
Don't Stop Believin'
Steve Smith's Vital Information
▼ 40
99
Atomic Dog
George Clinton
▼ 33
100
This Diamond Ring
Gary Lewis & The Playboys
▼ 28

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💬 Hot 100 Discussion Thread