Today is the birthday of Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken,

who was born in 1957 in Belleville, New Jersey. The Smithereens' hard-edged pop

appeared amid the late-'80s scene -- just as arty, guitar-based rockers like

R.E.M. and Dinosaur, Jr. were finding homes in America's record collections --

predating grunge with its guitar-heavy sound. Although the group has never

broken through in a big way, at least two of their songs--"Blood & Roses" and

"Behind the Wall of Sleep"--are classics.

Diken, along with high school

buddies Jim Babjak and Mike Mesaros (a guitarist and bassist, respectively),

placed an ad in a music paper that led them to vocalist Pat DiNizio. They

released an EP in 1980 called Girls About Town, which contained three

originals and a cover of the Beach Boys' "Girl Don't Tell Me." That EP and

their follow-up earned almost no attention, and the band had to support

themselves by playing covers and backing old fogies like Otis Blackwell and

Beau Brummels.

Their fates turned when DiNizio sent a demo to Enigma

Records; they were signed in 1987 and released Especially For You, with

guest appearances by Marshall Crenshaw and Suzanne Vega. Their follow-up,

1989's 11, scored a hit with "A Girl Like You" and went to #41 on the

album charts.

They have released three low-scoring albums since, including

1994's A Date With the Smithereens (featuring Lou Reed) and a live

record. Aside from his work with the band, Diken wrote the liner notes for a

compilation record, It's Hard To Believe It: The Amazing World Of Joe

Meek.

Other birthdays: George Harrison, Stuart "Woody" Wood (Bay City

Rollers), Jim "Daryl" Gilmour (Saga), Mike Peters (Alarm), Foster Sylvers

(Sylvers) and John Doe (X). -- Beth Winegarner