Pat DiNizio of the Smithereens Dies at 62

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13 Dec 2017, 9:02 am

http://variety.com/2017/music/news/pat-dinizio-smithereens-dead-1202638793/

Quote:
t DiNizio, vocalist-guitarist-songwriter for the tough yet tuneful New Jersey rock band the Smithereens, died Tuesday. He was 62.

The group announced his passing on their web site. No cause of death was given, but the musician had been beset by health problems in recent years; in 2015 he was sidelined after losing the use of his right hand and arm following a pair of falls that incurred serious nerve damage.

The Smithereens, who had canceled three tour dates earlier this year after DiNizio injured his back and neck in another fall, had scheduled new tour dates beginning in January.

Founded in Carteret, NJ, the Smithereens were among the most widely admired power-pop units of their era. DiNizio was the group’s principal songwriter; he specialized in melodic yet tough tunes that won the band comparisons to precursors like the Who and contemporaries like England’s Rockpile.

Though never a major success, the quartet acquired a loyal following with their early albums for Enigma Records. Their brand of rock classicism could be heard in such fan favorites as “Blood and Roses,” “Strangers When We Meet,” “Behind the Wall of Sleep,” “In a Lonely Place,” “Only a Memory,” and “A Girl Like You.”

DiNizio was born Oct. 12, 1955, in Scotch Plains, NJ, and lived all his life in his Garden State hometown

Honing their chops at club shows that made them regional heroes, the Smithereens issued their debut album “Especially for You” on Enigma in 1986. The hard-rocking yet pop-savvy set included the breakout radio track “Blood and Roses,” and climbed to No. 51 on the U.S. charts. Its successors, “Green Thoughts” (No. 60, 1988) and “11” (No. 41, 1989), contained similarly styled material that heartily echoed the sounds of the ‘60s British Invasion.

Though none of DiNizio’s solo releases was a major hit, he remained a much-loved figure in the New York/New Jersey region, and was a compelling performer even when armed with an acoustic guitar.

In 2000, he branched into politics in an unsuccessful Reform Party campaign for a New Jersey seat in the U.S. Senate. The following year, he began a stint as the host of an XM Radio station devoted to unsigned talent. He appeared on ESPN’s “7th Inning Stretch,” a reality show that followed his attempt to join a minor league New Jersey baseball team, in 2006.


I was fortunate to get to see them play at a NYC club back in the ‘80s


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