CAT Episode 145 – Jim Babjak (The Smithereens)

CAT Episode 145 - Jim Babjak (The Smithereens) Ray White 29:20

Jim Babjak, guitarist/vocalist, co-founded The Smithereens in 1980. The band was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2018. Throughout the years, the band has released over a dozen studio albums. After lead singer/guitarist Pat DiNizio passed away in 2017, the other original members of the band have incorporated “guest vocalists,” Marshall Crenshaw and Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms to help persevere and carry on the bands legacy. Ray White, multi-award winning program director, caught up with Jim in December of 2022 to talk about the latest studio release from the band – The Lost Album. The songs were recorded in 1993, but finally released in 2022. He also shared the latest about his entrepreneurial venture (you’ll have to listen to find out.) Don’t miss our tribute to Pat on Episode 30, too. In our showcase segment, we feature the latest from the bands’ “guest vocalists.” Marshal Crenshaw re-released Miracle of Science in 2020 with”new” songs and Robin Wilson with the Gin Blossoms released Mixed Reality in 2018. Rock ‘n’ Roll at its’ finest on The CAT!

Ray White Managing Director, Classic Artists Today

Ray's passion for music and the musicians, started as a youth listening to transistor radios under the covers at bedtime. The bands and performers he liked, he followed throughout their career. In 2005 he was fed up with the evolution of a majority of the music the radio stations were playing and began investigating the bands he grew up listening to in the 1960's, 70's and 80's. Radio wasn't playing any of those band's "new" songs, just the "classic" hits. Researching the industry for a year, Ray launched Classic Artists Today syndicated radio show - featuring "new" songs by "classic" artists and included interviews and classic tracks too. The show was carried by several dozen radio stations in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. Featuring Rock/Pop musicians and bands, Ray and the show won several awards from New Music Weekly magazine. With the success of these shows, he launched Coool CAT syndicated radio show, 5 years later, featuring Soul/R&B/Smooth Jazz/Blues performers and bands. In 2017, Ray starting producing his show in a 30-minute podcast format. Today, you can hear his work at Sittin' In With The CAT and Sittin' In With The Coool CAT. The legacy continues!