In the mid-'70s the Ramones shaped the sound of punk rock in New York with simple, fast songs, deadpan lyrics, no solos, and an impenetrable wall of guitar chords. The cultural importance of the Ramones became most apparent in 2001, when leader Joey Ramone was eulogized not only in the rock press but the New York Times and other general media.
The group formed in 1974 after the foursome graduated or left high school in Forest Hills, New York. The original lineup featured Joey on drums, Dee Dee sharing guitar with Johnny, and Tommy as manager, but they soon settled on their recording setup.
In 1976 Ramones was a definitive punk statement, with songs like “Beat on the Brat,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”- 14 of them, clocking in at under 30 minutes. The group traveled to England in 1976, giving the nascent British punk scene the same boost they had provided to New Yorkers. Before the year was out, Ramones Leave Home had been released. As throughout its career, the band toured almost incessantly. With their next two singles, the group began to soften their sound slightly.
After Subterranean Jungle, Marky Ramone departed, to be replaced by ex-Velveteens Richard Beau. As Richie Ramone, the drummer played on four albums, before Marky returned in 1987. Too Tough to Die, with Eurythmic Dave Stewart producing the pop single “Howling at the Moon,” recaptured some of their ’70s energy, and “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg” off Animal Boy offered cutting political satire.
In 1989 the Ramones gained their widest exposure with the title track to the soundtrack for Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, but also underwent their most significant internal shift. Dee Dee departed, first to record, as Dee Dee King, a rap album, Standing in the Spotlight, and then to form the rock group Chinese Dragons. His post-Ramones career included publishing the autobiography Poisoned Heart: Surviving the Ramones and, in the late ’90s, playing with his wife, Barbara, and Marky Ramone in the Ramones spinoff unit, the Ramainz. AWOL from the marines at the time he enlisted in the band, C.J. Ramone infused youthful energy - he was 14 years younger than Joey and Johnny - but the band’s sound remained the same.
Marky formed Marky Ramone and the Intruders and has released two albums to date. Joey went on to manage the Independents, a horror-punk-ska band, to act in the indie film Final Rinse, and, in 1999, to coproduce a Ronnie Spector EP, She Talks to Rainbows. The U.S. Congress proclaimed May 19, 2001, Joey Ramone Day. After being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March 2002, fellow Ramones Dee Dee and Johnny soon passed away; Dee Dee from a heroin overdose on June 5, 2002 and Johnny from prostate cancer on September 15, 2004.
from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)
www.rollingstones.com
The group formed in 1974 after the foursome graduated or left high school in Forest Hills, New York. The original lineup featured Joey on drums, Dee Dee sharing guitar with Johnny, and Tommy as manager, but they soon settled on their recording setup.
In 1976 Ramones was a definitive punk statement, with songs like “Beat on the Brat,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”- 14 of them, clocking in at under 30 minutes. The group traveled to England in 1976, giving the nascent British punk scene the same boost they had provided to New Yorkers. Before the year was out, Ramones Leave Home had been released. As throughout its career, the band toured almost incessantly. With their next two singles, the group began to soften their sound slightly.
After Subterranean Jungle, Marky Ramone departed, to be replaced by ex-Velveteens Richard Beau. As Richie Ramone, the drummer played on four albums, before Marky returned in 1987. Too Tough to Die, with Eurythmic Dave Stewart producing the pop single “Howling at the Moon,” recaptured some of their ’70s energy, and “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg” off Animal Boy offered cutting political satire.
In 1989 the Ramones gained their widest exposure with the title track to the soundtrack for Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, but also underwent their most significant internal shift. Dee Dee departed, first to record, as Dee Dee King, a rap album, Standing in the Spotlight, and then to form the rock group Chinese Dragons. His post-Ramones career included publishing the autobiography Poisoned Heart: Surviving the Ramones and, in the late ’90s, playing with his wife, Barbara, and Marky Ramone in the Ramones spinoff unit, the Ramainz. AWOL from the marines at the time he enlisted in the band, C.J. Ramone infused youthful energy - he was 14 years younger than Joey and Johnny - but the band’s sound remained the same.
Marky formed Marky Ramone and the Intruders and has released two albums to date. Joey went on to manage the Independents, a horror-punk-ska band, to act in the indie film Final Rinse, and, in 1999, to coproduce a Ronnie Spector EP, She Talks to Rainbows. The U.S. Congress proclaimed May 19, 2001, Joey Ramone Day. After being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March 2002, fellow Ramones Dee Dee and Johnny soon passed away; Dee Dee from a heroin overdose on June 5, 2002 and Johnny from prostate cancer on September 15, 2004.
from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)
www.rollingstones.com
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