Asbury Park Mourns Death of Pat DiNizio Of The Smithereens

ASBURY PARK, NJ - Pat DiNizio, the lead singer and songwriter of the New Jersey rock group the Smithereens, died Tuesday at the age of 62.

According to Rolling Stone and USA Today and the Smithereens themselves, DiNizio's death was confirmed but no cause was provided. According to his official obituary on Legacy.com, "DiNizio posted several days ago that he was hopeful of getting back on tour as he continued physical therapy for neck and back injuries at the Victorian farmhouse he was restoring in Scotch Plains."

"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Pat DiNizio, lead singer and songwriter of the influential New Jersey rock band," wrote the band on its Facebook page. "Pat was looking forward to getting back on the road and seeing his many fans and friends. Please keep Pat in your thoughts and prayers."

DiNizio had been dealing with a number of health issues recently but performed at The Wonder Bar as recently as July, according to the Asbury Park Boardwalk Facebook page.

DiNizio also was a fixture at Light of Day events, such as WinterFest the primary fundraiser for the foundation, now in its 18th year of raising money and awareness through the power of music in order to defeat Parkinson’s Disease and the Parkinsonisms, ALS and PSP, in our lifetime.

DiNizio performed twice at WinterFest as a solo acoustic artist, and in January 2016, with the Smithereens as headliners of “Bob’s Birthday Bash,” the marquee event of the 10-day charity festival. The next WinterFest will be held Jan. 5 through Jan. 15.

“Pat was a powerful vocalist with one of the most distinctive voices in rock, a brilliant songwriter, a great cook, a proud Italian, a lover of America’s favorite pastime and most importantly, a sweet and bright human being,” said Tony Pallagrosi, Light of Day Foundation executive director. “Once he started working with us, he was here to stay. This is a tremendous loss to the Light of Day family and the music community overall.”

The Smithereens headlined at WinterFest’s “Sweet Little 16” to kick off a year-long 30th anniversary of the release of its multi-platinum major label debut, Especially For You. To mark the occasion, the band highlighted its jazzy baroque stylings by adding horn and string sections to the presentation.

“I played Light of Day for the first time last year as a solo acoustic act and it was one of my most memorable performing experiences in that I’ve seldom seen an audience that responsive to virtually every performer,” said DiNizio in anticipation of the 2016 Smithereens show. “It was simply electric."

DiNizio helped form the Smithereens in 1980 after placing an ad looking for a drummer to help him on a demo tape, according to the obituary. Dennis Diken answered the ad and with him brought Carteret High School classmates guitarist Jim Babjak and bassist Mike Mesaros. They named themselves after a favorite word of cartoon character Yosemite Sam.

"We all happened to love the same music and also as importantly be fans of the same pop culture things," DiNizio told SugarBuzz Magazine in 2007. "We grew up watching Soupy Sales, Chuck McCann and The Monkees. We all grew up reading Mad Magazine and there was a shared background. So we agreed upon all of that."

"The Smithereens' surviving members Babjak, Diken and Mesaros added in a statement on their official site. "Today we mourn the loss of our friend, brother and bandmate Pat DiNizio.

"Pat had the magic touch," they continued. "He channeled the essence of joy and heartbreak into hook-laden three-minute pop songs infused with a life-long passion for rock and roll. Our journey with Pat was long, storied and a hell of a lot of fun. We grew up together. Little did we know that we wouldn’t grow old together. Goodbye Pat. Seems like yesterday."

The men came together creatively in the early 1980s, with songs such as "A Girl Like You," "Only a Memory," "Blood and Roses," "Too Much Passion," "Top of the Pops" and "Miles From Nowhere," all written by DiNizio.

Over their career, the Smithereens opened for a mix of artists including Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi.

"We've played with literally everyone," DiNizio said in 2013. "It seems that if you’re around long enough and if you survive long enough, you’re going to wind up playing shows with everybody in every conceivable situation."

In addition to 11 albums with the Smithereens – including full album tributes to the Who's Tommy and the Beatles' Meet the Beatles and most recently 2011's 2011 – DiNizio released four solo albums. DiNizio also unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate as a member of New Jersey's Reform Party candidate in 2000, a stunt documented in the film "Mr. Smithereen Goes to Washington." In 2006, the singer appeared in the ESPN2 reality series "7th Inning Stretch," about his attempts to make a minor league baseball team, according to NJ.com.

Influenced by everyone from Buddy Holly to the Clash, the Smithereens had their breakthrough in 1986 when "Blood and Roses" was featured in the movie "Dangerously Close," and the song's video was aired on MTV. DiNizio was a film fan whose ballad "In a Lonely Place," featuring Suzanne Vega on backing vocals and included lines from the Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name. The Smithereens also made a cameo appearance in the 1980s cult film "Class of Nuke 'Em High."

Asbury Park mourns the loss of Pat DiNizio. Photograph by Jim Cooper/Associated Press.