Dennis Diken is a founding member and the drummer of the acclaimed rock’n’roll band The Smithereens (known for their hits “Blood And Roses,” “Only A Memory” and “A Girl Like You”) who were among the 2019 inductees of The New Jersey Hall Of Fame. As a sideman he has performed with Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, Al Jardine, Robert Lamm (Chicago), Bruce Springsteen, Nancy Sinatra, Ronnie Spector, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Mary Weiss (The Shangri-Las), Ben E. King, Denny Doherty (The Mamas & The Papas) and was the musical director for "It's Hard To Believe It: The Music of Joe Meek" at NYC's downtown cabaret The Fez. Also a noted record producer, session musician, author and pop music historian, Diken has researched and written essays for numerous CD compilations, including collections of The Four Freshmen, Louis Prima, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys and has contributed articles to USA Today, Modern Drummer, EQ and Weird NJ. Diken also DJs on the renowned free-form WFMU-FM and fronts his songwriting/recording project Dennis Diken With Bell Sound.