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The Best Of The Smithereens
''The Best of The Smithereens'' is a compilation album by Carteret, New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens, released in 1997. Track listing Personnel ;The Smithereens * Pat DiNizio – vocals, guitar *Jim Babjak – guitar *Dennis Diken Dennis Diken (born February 25, 1957) is an American drummer, DJ, author, music historian, and founding member of the band the Smithereens, which he formed in 1980 with Pat DiNizio, Jim Babjak, and Mike Mesaros in Carteret, New Jersey. Besides ... – drums *Mike Mesaros – bass References {{DEFAULTSORT:Best of The Smithereens, The The Smithereens albums 1997 compilation albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Smithereens
The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drums & percussion). 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. The band are perhaps best known for a string of hits in the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, including "Only a Memory", " A Girl Like You" and " Too Much Passion". The Smithereens have collaborated with numerous musicians, both in the studio (Belinda Carlisle, Julian Lennon, Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega) and live (Graham Parker and The Kinks). The band's name comes from a Yosemite Sam catchphrase, "Varmint, I'm a-gonna blow you to smithereens!" Histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Thoughts
''Green Thoughts'' is the second studio album by the Smithereens, released in March 1988 by Enigma/Capitol Records.Green Thoughts . Officialsmithereens.com. Retrieved on 27 December 2018. The single, "Only a Memory", reached No. 92 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the chart in 1988. Background The Smithereens had toured from May 1986 to September 1987 in support of their debut album, 1986's '' |
Dennis Diken
Dennis Diken (born February 25, 1957) is an American drummer, DJ, author, music historian, and founding member of the band the Smithereens, which he formed in 1980 with Pat DiNizio, Jim Babjak, and Mike Mesaros in Carteret, New Jersey. Besides playing with the Smithereens, Diken is a fill-in DJ on WFMU as well as a liner notes author and reissue project researcher. As a musician, Diken has recorded or toured with, among others, Ronnie Spector, Dave Davies, Nancy Sinatra, Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las and Ben E. King, and worked with musicians such as Dave Amels and R. Stevie Moore. Diken graduated from Carteret High School in 1975, together with Jim Babjak. Career Diken has been a constant member of the Smithereens since 1980 but has also worked as a session drummer since the 1980s. He toured with former Shangri-La Mary Weiss in the late 2000s and has since 2014 toured with former Kinks guitarist Dave Davies' solo band. On December 18, 2015 during Dave Davies’ concert at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Babjak
Jim Babjak (born November 17, 1957) is an American guitarist and ex-banker. He is the lead guitar player and co-founder of The Smithereens. Babjak has written and sung several songs for the band. He also is the leader of the band ''Buzzed Meg''. Origins Babjak, from Carteret, New Jersey, formed The Smithereens together with fellow Carteret High School alumni Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros (musician), Mike Mesaros, along with Pat DiNizio of Scotch Plains, New Jersey.Cahillane, KevinFade Away: The Smithereens' Monument to Persistence" ''The New York Times'', October 10, 2004. Accessed August 18, 2021. "The band formed in 1980 when three Carteret High School graduates (class of 1975) and childhood friends (Mr. Babjak, Dennis Diken on drums and Mike Mesaros on bass) met Pat DiNizio, a Scotch Plains singer-songwriter-garbage man." Appearances Babjak's music can be heard in the films ''Bull Durham'', ''Backdraft'', ''Encino Man'', ''Time Cop'', ''Romy & Michele's High School Reunion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House We Used To Live In
"House We Used to Live In" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens. It is the second single released in support of their second album ''Green Thoughts''. Background "House We Used to Live In" was partially inspired by frontman Pat DiNizio's parents. The lyrics were based on DiNizio's parents losing their house to the IRS after their divorce. DiNizio commented, "The lyrics are partially about that. They could also be about the break-up of a marriage or a relationship, not necessarily my parents'." Release "House We Used to Live In" was released as the second single from the band's sophomore album, ''Green Thoughts''. The single reached number 14 on the US Mainstream Rock Charts. Formats and track listing All songs written by Pat DiNizio, except where noted. ;US 12" single (ENVT 2) #"House We Used to Live In" – 4:00 #"Ruler of My Heart" (Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drown In My Own Tears (The Smithereens Song)
"Drown in My Own Tears" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens. It is the third single released in support of their second album ''Green Thoughts''. Background Frontman Pat DiNizio came up with the guitar riff at the soundcheck for the last concert of the ''Especially for You'' tour. The title was taken from the song of the same name, best known in the version released as a single in 1956 by Ray Charles, and the lyrics were inspired by the Beatles' " No Reply". Release "Drown in My Own Tears" was released as the third single from the band's sophomore album, ''Green Thoughts ''Green Thoughts'' is the second studio album by the Smithereens, released in March 1988 by Enigma/Capitol Records. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blow Up (The Smithereens Album)
''Blow Up'' is the fourth full-length studio album by the Smithereens, released in September 1991 by Capitol Records. The album charted at #120 in the U.S. in October 1991. The album's second single, " Too Much Passion", became the group's second top-40 single, peaking at #37. ''Top of the Pops'' was released as the first single of the album. Background The Smithereens followed their previous album, the relatively successful '' 11'' (1989), with what Allmusic's Jason Damas called "their most straightforward and mainstream-ready release yet." Produced, like its predecessor, by Ed Stasium, ''Blow Up'' features songwriting collaborations with Diane Warren ("Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing") and Julian Lennon on two of the album's most accessible tracks. ''Blow Up'' was released the same month as Nirvana's ''Nevermind'', an album that would quickly have a huge impact on alternative radio formats, "squeezing out largely pop-oriented bands like the Smith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Too Much Passion
"Too Much Passion" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens. It is the second single released in support of their fourth album '' Blow Up''. It hit #8 on the Cash Box Top 100 (dated April 18, 1992) as well as #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also provided Smithereens with their first, and to date, only Adult Contemporary charting song, reaching #32 on that chart. In the Smithereens guitar book, Pat DiNizio explains that he wrote the song to sound like the style of Smokey Robinson. There was also a music video directed by Jeff Stein (known for his work on '' The Kids Are Alright''). Formats and track listing All songs written by Pat DiNizio Patrick Michael DiNizio (October 12, 1955 – December 12, 2017) was the lead singer, songwriter, and founding member of the band The Smithereens, which he formed in 1980 with Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken, and Mike Mesaros, from Carteret, New Jersey ..., except where noted. ;US cassette single (4KM-44784) #"Too M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In A Lonely Place (song)
"In a Lonely Place" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens, released in 1986. It is the third single released in support of their debut album '' Especially for You''. It features Suzanne Vega on background vocals, as well as guest musicians Frank Christian on acoustic guitar and Jeffrey Berman on vibraphone. Background The song takes its title from the 1950 film noir ''In a Lonely Place'', starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, and its pre-chorus lyrics are largely adapted from key lines of dialogue in the film; at one point, Bogart's character says, "I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me," while in the film's climactic scene, Grahame's character says, "Yesterday, this would've meant so much to us. Now it doesn't matter... it doesn't matter at all." The relevant lyrics are: "I was born the day I met you/Lived a while when you loved me/Died a little when we broke apart//Yesterday, it woul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yesterday Girl (song)
"Yesterday Girl" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens. It is the third single released in support of their third album '' 11''. Pat DiNizio said that the music was based on Louie Louie by The Kingsmen. The song was written about the downsides to success. Formats and track listing All songs written by Pat DiNizio ;US cassette single (4JM-44587) #"Yesterday Girl" – 3:27 #"Room Without a View" – 4:09 #" Behind the Wall of Sleep (MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...)" – 4:02 Charts References {{DEFAULTSORT:Yesterday Girl (song) 1989 songs 1990 singles Capitol Records singles The Smithereens songs Song recordings produced by Ed Stasium Songs written by Pat DiNizio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blood And Roses (song)
"Blood and Roses" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens. It is the first single released in support of their debut album ''Especially for You''. Background DiNizio explained of the song's origin, "I was walking home from my job as soundman at NYC's legendary Folk City nightclub through the freezing rain at about four in the morning when the bass line came to me, the chords and melody came later built around the bass part." Lyrically, the song is about a girl DiNizio knew in highschool, who took her own life. The title was taken from a short story of the same name by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, a literary hero of DiNizio's. "I found out years later that ''Blood and Roses'' was also the title of an obscure early 1960s horror film directed by Roger Vadim", DiNizio said. Release "Blood and Roses" was released as the first single from the band's debut album, ''Especially for You''. The single reached number 14 on the US Mainstream Rock Charts as well a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Behind The Wall Of Sleep (The Smithereens Song)
"Behind the Wall of Sleep" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens, released in 1986. It is the second single released in support of their debut album ''Especially for You''. Background Lead singer Pat DiNizio wrote the lyrics to the song on the back of a cocktail napkin on a flight home from Boston to New York City. The Smithereens had shared a bill with the Boston band The Bristols, whose bassist Kim Ernst had caught DiNizio's attention. DiNizio: "My crush on her led me to write that on a very hung-over morning after a party in Boston." The lyrics include references to 1960s model Jean Shrimpton ("She had hair like Jeannie Shrimpton back in 1965") and Rolling Stone bassist Bill Wyman ("She held a bass guitar and she was playing in a band/And she stood just like Bill Wyman/Now I am her biggest fan"). At the time, DiNizio didn't give a lot of thought to the pop imagery in the lyrics, but it "seemed to create a certain interest later on", he said in 1995. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
