The Smithereens

 

early Smithereens photo

Founded in New Jersey in 1980, The Smithereens are still rocking 41 years later. 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 laces 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 in 1990, when 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!."

With the 2017 passing of Pat DiNizio, the surviving members decided to keep going using guest vocalists. Those guests have included Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms and Marshall Crenshaw.

Their website is www.officialsmithereens.com