The Smithereens

 

early Smithereens photo

Founded in New Jersey in 1980, The Smithereens are still rocking. Founding members Jim Babjak (guitar) Dennis Diken (drums) and Mike Mesaros (bass) grew up together in Carteret and lead singer Pat DiNizio grew up in Scotch Plains. 

Since I am a Jersey boy, I saw them a number of times in places like the Court Tavern and Stone Pony in NJ. It was MTV and TV appearances on The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien, and Saturday Night Live that drove their peak popularity in the late 1980s through the mid 1990s.

The songs they are most identified with are probably "Only a Memory", "A Girl Like You" and "Too Much Passion."

Their top-ranked album on the Billboard pop charts was the 1990 album 11 which featured the hit single "A Girl Like You." 

Yosemite Sam is a cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park and he is an adversary of Bugs Bunny. He is not very "Jersey" but , like the band's sound, he is very aggressive, The band's name comes from one of Yosemite Sam catchphrases, "Varmint, I'm a-gonna blow you to smithereens!."

This original lineup continued until 2006, when Mesaros left the band and Severo Jornacion took over on bass guitar until Mesaros' return in 2016. After DiNizio died in 2017, the band continued performing live shows as a trio (Babjak, Mesaros and Diken) with various guest vocalists. Those guests have included Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms and Marshall Crenshaw.

Their website is www.officialsmithereens.com 

11 from 1990