SCOTCH PLAINS, N.J. — Pat DiNizio, who as lead singer and songwriter for the New Jersey band the Smithereens was known for such hits as "Blood and Roses" and "A Girl Like You," has died at age 62.

The band announced on Facebook that DiNizio died Tuesday. The cause of death was not announced. 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. The Smithereens peaked in the late 1980s-early 1990s, but continued to tour and record, their more recent albums including "2011" and "The Smithereens Play Tommy."

Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens sings during the USA Tennis Rock and Rally on April 28, 2003 at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Ezra Shaw / Getty Images file

Band members said on Facebook that their "journey with Pat was long, storied and a hell of a lot of fun."

DiNizio helped form the Smithereens in 1980 after placing an ad looking for a drummer to help him on a demo tape. 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."

Influenced by everyone from Buddy Holly to the Clash, the Smithereens blended catchy melodies and grinding guitars on "A Girl Like You," ''Only a Memory" and other songs.

Their breakthrough came 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 movie fan whose stylish ballad "In a Lonely Place," featuring Suzanne Vega on backing vocals, 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."