The Smithereens are a
New Jersey-based
rock band begun in
1980, distinguished by a then-unfashionable set of influences, and the melancholy vocals of frontman Pat DiNizio. The band's debut single,
Girls About Town, signaled the arrival of an unusual presence in the musical landscape of the time: a band whose influences were almost entirely confined to
1960s pop-rock (including British Invasion and Girl Group sounds), eschewing both synthesizers and
New Wave flamboyance. It was their
1986 debut album,
Especially for You, however, that established the Smithereens as a mainstream band, with the successful singles "Blood and Roses" and "Behind the Wall of Sleep." The band's
2007 studio album
Meet the Smithereens! was a full-length cover of
The Beatles' 1964 album
Meet the Beatles!.