Artist · chart history · #259 in alternative artist polls · #461 in indie & aaa artist polls
The Smithereens
Band Carteret United States Formed 1980 New Jersey power pop band
The Smithereens formed in 1980 in Carteret, United States. The Smithereens has 221 chart appearances on 80 radio countdowns from 22 stations on RockLists, spanning 1986–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Blood and Roses”, which appears on 40 lists with a best position of #5. The station that charted The Smithereens most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 107 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1986.
The Smithereens came out of Carteret, New Jersey, in 1980, four guys who took their name from Yosemite Sam's favorite word and planted themselves at the loud, melodic end of rock: chiming, crunching guitars, big hooks and a moody undertow. Pat DiNizio sang and played guitar, Jim Babjak played guitar and sang, Mike Mesaros played bass and sang, and Dennis Diken played drums and percussion, and that lineup lasted a quarter-century.
Especially for You in 1986 was a stunner of a debut. "Blood and Roses" is its calling card, all dark, throbbing bass and brooding menace, and "Behind the Wall of Sleep" is a pure power pop swoon with a hint of heartbreak. "In a Lonely Place" and "Cigarette" filled out a record that sounded like the Beatles and the Kinks as heard through a dimly lit bar in Jersey. Green Thoughts in 1988 brought "Only a Memory", and 11 in 1989 had "A Girl Like You", "Yesterday Girl" and "Blues Before and After". From the late '80s through the mid-'90s the hits kept coming, including "Too Much Passion".
Blow Up in 1991 added "Top of the Pops" and "Girl in Room 12", and A Date with the Smithereens followed in 1994, with an album called 2011 arriving in 2011. Along the way they worked in the studio with Belinda Carlisle, Julian Lennon, Lou Reed and Suzanne Vega, and shared stages with Otis Blackwell, Graham Parker and the Kinks.
Mesaros left in 2006 and Severo Jornacion played bass until he returned. DiNizio died in 2017, and the band has carried on as a trio, bringing in guest singers for live shows. The New Jersey Hall of Fame inducted them in 2018. On the countdowns, "Blood and Roses" and "A Girl Like You" are still the ones listeners reach for.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The Smithereens on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blood and Roses | 40 | #5 | – | 1986 | |
| 2 | A Girl Like You | 51 | #30 | – | 1989 | |
| 3 | Only A Memory | 22 | #13 | – | 1988 | |
| 4 | Top of the Pops | 14 | #23 | – | 1991 | |
| 5 | Behind the Wall of Sleep | 23 | #62 | – | 1986 | |
| 6 | Blues Before And After | 10 | #347 | – | – | |
| 7 | Yesterday Girl | 9 | #52 | – | 1990 | |
| 8 | In A Lonely Place | 13 | #1350 | – | – | |
| 9 | House That We Used To Live In | 7 | #1182 | – | – | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 14 | #1498 | – | – | |
| 11 | Sorry | 3 | #64 | – | 2011 | |
| 12 | Tell Me When Did Things Go So Wrong | 2 | #994 | – | – | |
| 13 | Girl in Room 12 | 1 | #660 | – | – | |
| 14 | House We Used to Live In | 4 | #87 | – | 1988 | |
| 15 | Drown in my own tears | 1 | #1328 | – | – | |
| 16 | Blue Period | 1 | #69 | – | 1990 | |
| 17 | In A Lonely PlaceRank | 1 | #1726 | – | – | |
| 18 | Miles From Nowhere | 1 | #88 | – | 1994 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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