the ramones
The Ramones are the first punk rock band. Other bands, such as
the Stooges and the New York Dolls, came before them and set the
stage and aesthetic for punk, and bands that immediately followed,
such as the Sex Pistols, made the latent violence of the music
more explicit, but the Ramones crystallized the musical ideals
of the genre. By cutting rock & roll down to its bare essentials
-- four chords; a simple, catchy melody; and irresistibly inane
lyrics -- and speeding up the tempo considerably, the Ramones
created something that was rooted in early '60s, pre-Beatles rock
& roll and pop but sounded revolutionary. Since their breakthrough
was theoretical as well as musical, they comfortably became the
leaders of the emerging New York punk rock scene. While their
peers such as Patti Smith, Television, Talking Heads, and Richard
Hell all were more intellectual and self-consciously artistic
than the Ramones, they nevertheless appealed to the same mentality
because of the way they turned rock conventions inside out and
celebrated kitschy pop culture with stylized stupidity. The band's
first four albums set the blueprint for punk, especially American
punk and hardcore, for the next two decades. And the Ramones themselves
were major figures for the next two decades, playing essentially
the same music without changing their style much at all. Although
some punk diehards -- including several of their peers -- would
have claimed the band's long career wound up undercutting the
ideals the band originally stood for, the Ramones always celebrated
not just the punk aesthetic, but the music itself.
Based in the Forest Hills section of Queens, NY, the Ramones
formed in 1974. Originally, the band was a trio consisting of
Joey Ramone (vocals, drums; born Jeffrey Hyman, May 19, 1951),
Johnny Ramone (guitar; born John Cummings, Oct. 8, 1951), and
Dee Dee Ramone (bass; born Douglas Colvin, Sept. 18, 1952), with
Tommy Ramone (born Tom Erdelyi, Jan. 29, 1952) acting as the group's
manager. All of the group's members adopted the last name "Ramone"
and dressed in torn blue jeans and leather jackets, in homage
to '50s greaser rockers. The group played their first concert
on March 30, 1974, at New York's Performance Studio. Two months
after the show, Joey switched to vocals and Tommy became the band's
drummer. By the end of the summer, the Ramones earned a residency
at CBGB's. For the next year, they played regularly at the nightclub,
earning a dedicated cult following and inspiring several other
artists to form bands with similar ideals. All of the Ramones
sets clocked in at about 20 minutes, featuring an unrelenting
barrage of short, barely two-minute songs. By the end of 1975,
the Ramones secured a recording contract with Sire; discounting
Patti Smith, they were the first New York punk band to sign a
contract.
Early in 1976, the Ramones recorded their debut album for just
over 6,000 dollars. The resulting album, Ramones, was released
in the spring, gained some critical attention, and managed to
climb to 111 on the U.S. album charts. On July 4, the band made
their debut appearance in Britain, where their records were becoming
a big influence on a new generation of bands. Throughout 1976,
the Ramones toured constantly, inaugurating nearly 20 years of
relentless touring. By the end of the year, the group released
their second album, Ramones Leave Home. While the album just scraped
the U.S. charts, Leave Home became a genuine hit in England in
the spring of 1977, peaking at number 48. By the summer of 1977,
the Sex Pistols and the Ramones were seen as the two key bands
in the punk rock revolution, but where the Pistols imploded, the
Ramones kept on rolling. Following the U.K. Top 40 hit "Sheena
Is a Punk Rocker," the Ramones released their third album,
Rocket to Russia, in the fall of 1977.
Tommy Ramone left the band in the spring of 1977, although he
produced the group's subsequent album. He was replaced by former
Voidoid Marc Bee, who immediately changed his name to Marky Ramone.
With their new drummer in place, the Ramones recorded their fourth
album, Road to Ruin, which was released in the fall. Road to Ruin
marked the band's first significant attempt to change their sound;
not only were there stronger bubblegum, girl group, surf, and
'60s pop influences on the music, it was the first of their albums
to run over a half hour. Although their sound was more accessible,
it didn't gain the band a noticeably larger following. Neither
did Rock N' Roll High School, the 1979 Roger Corman film in which
the Ramones had a pivotal part. The soundtrack to Rock N' Roll
High School and the U.K.-only live album It's Alive were the band's
only releases of 1979. For most of the year, they were in the
studio recording their fifth album with legendary '60s pop producer
Phil Spector. The title song to the Corman movie was the first
track released from the sessions, although the soundtrack album
did feature a number of older Ramones songs remixed by Spector.
End of the Century, the Spector-produced Ramones album, finally
appeared in January of 1980 to mixed reviews. Despite the lukewarm
reception to the album, the record's cover of the Ronettes' "Baby
I Love You" became their only Top Ten British hit; in America,
none of the singles made an impact, although the record became
their biggest hit, peaking at number 44.
The Ramones continued their attempts at crossover success with
their sixth album, Pleasant Dreams, which was released in 1981.
Featuring a production by former Hollies and 10cc member Graham
Gouldman, the record was a commercial disappointment in both America
and England. The band was relatively quiet during 1982, spending
most of their time touring. In the spring of 1983, the band returned
with Subterranean Jungle, which was produced by Ritchie Cordell
and Glen Koltkin, the heads of the American indie label Beserkley
Records. Not only did Subterranean Jungle fail to gain the band
the larger audience they desired, it continued the erosion of
the band's diehard fan base, as well as their decline in the eyes
of many rock critics. Following the album's release, Marky Ramone
left the band; he was replaced by Richard Beau, a former member
of the Velveteens, who changed his name to Richie Ramone.
With 1984's Too Tough to Die, the Ramones delivered a belated
response to America's burgeoning hardcore punk scene that was
largely produced by Tommy Erdelyi. The album helped restore their
artistic reputation, as did the 1985 single, "Bonzo Goes
to Bitburg," an attack on President Ronald Reagan's 1985
visit to Germany. Instead of continuing with the sound of Too
Tough to Die, the Ramones began pursuing a more streamlined, stylized,
and conventional take on their songwriting formula with 1986's
Animal Boy. This was a direction the group followed for the remaining
ten years of their career. Following the release of 1987's Halfway
to Sanity, Richie Ramone left the band and Marky Ramone re-joined
the group. In 1988, the career retrospective Ramones Mania appeared.
In 1989, the Ramones contributed the theme song to the Stephen
King movie Pet Semetary, and the track was included on Brain Drain,
which was released in the summer of that year. After its release,
the group's bassist, Dee Dee Ramone, left the band to pursue a
career as a rapper called Dee Dee King; after his debut rap recording
failed miserably, he formed the band Chinese Dragons. Dee Dee
was replaced by C.J. Ramone (born Christopher John Ward).
In the early '90s, the Ramones sobered up, with both Joey and
Marky undergoing treatment for alcoholism. The band returned to
recording in 1992, first releasing the live Loco Live and then
Mondo Bizarro, their first studio album in three years. Mondo
Bizarro turned out to be a commercial failure, as did their 1994
covers album, Acid Eaters.
Following the release of Acid Eaters, the mainstream guitar rock
audience in America finally embraced punk rock, in the form of
young bands like Green Day and the Offspring. Sensing that the
climate may have been right for the crossover success they had
desired for so many years, the Ramones immediately followed Acid
Eaters with Adios Amigos, claiming that unless the new album sold
in substantial numbers, the band would call it quits after a final
farewell tour. Adios Amigos only spent two weeks in the charts.
Nevertheless, the Ramones embarked on a long farewell tour that
ran throughout the rest of 1995. The band was set to split in
the beginning of 1996 when they were offered a slot on the sixth
Lollapalooza, and they toured with the festival that summer. Following
the completion of the tour, the Ramones parted ways, 20 years
after the release of their first album. Just a few years later,
Joey Ramone passed away on April 15, 2001, at age 49, the victim
of lymphoma. Little more than a year later, Dee Dee Ramone was
found dead in his home in Los Angeles on June 5, 2002.
more artists...
