Pat DiNizio, the velvet-voiced lead singer of the rocking Smithereens of New Jersey, died Tuesday, Dec. 12.

He was 62.

DiNizio of Scotch Plains was a gifted singer, a master songwriter, a raconteur with a nimble wit, a student of pop culture and a charismatic personality whose brooding and embracing songs helped make the Smithereens music stars. DiNizio’s supple baritone stood out for a fullness and fluidity in its timbre. It helped caress lines and deliver extra oomph to band hits like “Blood and Roses,” “Drown in My Own Tears” and “Only a Memory” and “A Girl Like You.”

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“Today we mourn the loss of our friend, brother and bandmate Pat DiNizio,” said band members Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros in a statement. “Pat had the magic touch. He channeled the essence of joy and heartbreak into hook-laden three-minute pop songs, infused with a lifelong passion for rock ‘n’ 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.”

Babjak, Diken and Mesaros of Carteret (rock historian Diken now lives in Wood-Ridge) met DiNizio in 1980 after the singer placed an ad in the Aquarian music weekly. After the band honed its skills at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick, Kenny’s Castaways in New York City and other clubs in the area, they broke through with “Blood and Roses” in 1986. The song was featured in the movie “Dangerously Close” and a video for the track made it to MTV.

DiNizio, with a goatee and black shirt and pants, looked like a cross between a beatnik and a neighborhood tough guy.

“The Smithereens are, in essence, a mirror for our audience,” said DiNizio to Gannett NJ. “We’re four working-class guys from New Jersey from the neighborhood that looks, and acts and speaks and resembles, our audience. So whenever they come to a Smithereens show, they’re really looking at themselves.”

The band blended British Invasion rock with punk, pop, baroque and more.

“We were on the right corner at the right time and we had the will and desire to work hard, a lot of patience, and lot of resolve, which is really the essence of America,” DiNizio said.

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DiNizio constantly was exploring new ways to make a connection to fans. He drove around the country in several “Living Room Tours” to play acoustic shows in fans’ homes, and he would host an annual Memorial Day weekend party at his Scotch Plains home for fans.

“I’m trying to tear down that wall and bridge the gap between artist and audience,” DiNizio said. “I never liked being on a pedestal; I’d rather be down in the crowd. At a show I played last week, they constructed a stage for me. I was flattered and I appreciated it, but I insisted that I didn’t want to be on the stage, I wanted to be sitting on the floor with everyone else in the concert.”

He brought his talents to other outlets beyond the concert stage. He had a radio show on XM Satellite Radio in 2001 when the concept of satellite radio was young, and he starred in 2006 on ESPN2’s “7th Inning Stretch,” which followed his attempt to play for the Somerset Patriots Jersey minor league baseball team. Bruce Springsteen, Joan Jett and Gene Simmons appeared on the special.

“Speaking for myself, it’s more difficult to write a hit song than it is to get around on a 90 mph fastball,” DiNizio said.

His "Confessions of Rock Star" was similar in staging but predated Springsteen's "Springsteen on Broadway." "Confessions" played at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

In recent months, DiNizio had lost mobility in his arms, which precluded him from playing guitar on stage. He had fallen at his Scotch Plains home in September, which caused the cancellation of several Smithereens shows. No cause of death has been announced.

The band had just announced a concert at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank for January.

“We had a very nice holiday here in Scotch Plains with the DiNizio family and friends and are very much looking forward to the rest of the holiday season, and also to our upcoming annual run of Smithereens winter concerts,” posted DiNizio over the Thanksgiving weekend. “In fact, we’ve been feeling so good lately — that we decided to pop the cork of a bottle of ultra-rare ‘Pat DiNizio Blood & Roses Cabernet,’ it has aged very well and is robust and full-bodied, not unlike America’s band, The Smithereens!”

Chris Jordan: cjordan@app.com. Twittter: @chrisfhjordan