The Smithereens
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| Background information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Origin |  Carteret, New Jersey, USA |
|
| Genre(s) | Rock | |
| Years active | 1980 — present | |
| Label(s) | d-tone, Little Ricky Records, Capitol, Enigma, Restless, BMG, Excelsior, Velvel, Koch | |
| Members | ||
| Pat DiNizio — lead singer/guitar Jim Babjak — guitar Mike Mesaros — bass Dennis Diken — drums |
||
The Smithereens are a rock group from Carteret, New Jersey. The group, formed in 1980, consists of Pat DiNizio (lead singer/guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar), Mike Mesaros (bass), and Dennis Diken (drums). The group gained some notoriety when a single from its first album, "Blood and Roses", was included on the soundtrack for and as the theme song of the 1986 Albert Pyun movie Dangerously Close and the video got some moderately heavy rotation on MTV. The group spent some time in its initial semi-celebrity phase defending itself in Rolling Stone against thinly-veiled accusations of sounding too much like The Byrds and The Beatles, pointing out that its Marshall Amplifier-heavy live sound was closer to heavy metal than it was to The Beatles.
Along with a basic Eastern-coast roots-rock sound that owed much to the inspirations of DiNizio, including Buddy Holly, The Who, The Clash, Elvis Costello, and Nick Lowe, the Smithereens deployed a uniquely retro obsession with Mod, the late British Invasion pop of John's Children and The Move, and other artifacts of fifties and sixties culture that lent its music substance and style.
The Smithereens featured as the entertainment in the indoor beach party scene of the Troma film Class of Nuke 'Em High, playing the song "Much Too Much".
The highest position a Smithereens album attained on the Billboard pop charts was in 1990, when 11 peaked at #41 on the strength of the single "A Girl Like You" (which hit #38). The group is still active and tours frequently.
[edit] Selected discography
- Girls About Town, 1980 (d-tone)
- Beauty and Sadness, 1983 (Little Ricky Records/Capitol)
- Especially for You, 1986 (Enigma/Capitol)
- Live, 1987 (Restless)
- Green Thoughts, 1988 (Enigma/Capitol)
- 11, 1989 (Enigma/Capitol)
- Blow Up, 1991 (Capitol)
- A Date with the Smithereens, 1994 (BMG/Excelsior)
- Blown To Smithereens: Best of the Smithereens, 1995 (Capitol Records)
- God Save the Smithereens, 1999 (Velvel/Koch Entertainment)
- Meet the Smithereens, To be released around January 20, 2007 on Koch
- Currently Untitled, To be released in May or June 2007 [1]
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Blood and Roses" | - | - | #14 | - | Especially for You |
| 1986 | "Behind the Wall of Sleep" | - | - | #23 | - | Especially for You |
| 1988 | "Only a Memory" | #92 | - | #1 | - | Green Thoughts |
| 1988 | "House We Used to Live In" | - | - | #14 | - | Green Thoughts |
| 1988 | "Drown in My Own Tears" | - | - | #34 | - | Green Thoughts |
| 1989 | "A Girl Like You" | #38 | #3 | #2 | - | 11 |
| 1990 | "Blues Before and After" | #94 | #18 | #7 | - | 11 |
| 1990 | "Yesterday Girl" | - | #16 | #20 | - | 11 |
| 1991 | "Top of the Pops" | - | #2 | #19 | - | Blow Up |
| 1991 | "Tell Me When Did Things Go So Wrong" | - | #11 | #28 | - | Blow Up |
| 1992 | "Too Much Passion" | #37 | - | - | - | Blow Up |
| 1994 | "Miles from Nowhere" | - | - | #17 | - | A Date with the Smithereens |
