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The Ramones



         


The Ramones were a punk rock band formed in New York in March 1974. They led the New York punk movement and are often credited with forming the musical foundation of punk.

The original band members all adopted Ramone as a surname although they were not actually brothers:

Hyman suggested the name, inspired by the fact that Paul McCartney used to call himself Phil Ramone when he was in the Silver Beatles.

The Ramones pioneered a back-to-basics sound that avoided psychedelic music as well as the bloated bombastic guitar that 1970s rock music had sunk to at its worst. It heralded a raw, 1950s-early 1960s rock and roll or bubblegum pop sound played louder and faster. Joey Ramone has stated the Ramones were rather taken with the Bay City Rollers' hit song "Saturday Night," and set out to imitate its catchy, sing-a-long quality.

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Band history

After playing gigs at the legendary CBGB club in the Manhattan Bowery district, they were signed by Sire Records in autumn 1975 and recorded their debut album Ramones for about $6000.

They appeared at the Roundhouse in London, England, on July 4, 1976, second billed to the Beatles-esque Flamin' Groovies. Their appearance galvanized the UK punk rock scene, inspiring future punk stars including members of The Clash and The Sex Pistols.

Their music inspired some bands to wear The Ramones' influence on their sleeves and create a subgenre dubbed Ramones-punk. The music is generally a little faster and heavier on the guitars with (often) tongue-in-cheek lyrics about girls and similar fare. Notable bands include Screeching Weasel and The Queers, both of whom recorded entire Ramones cover albums.

After two years on the road and the Top 50 hit album Rocket to Russia, an exhausted Tommy Ramone was replaced on drums by Marc Bell, who became Marky Ramone. Tommy worked with Marky to ensure that his drumming was appropriate for the Ramones style; he also produced the Ramones fourth studio album Road to Ruin and their eighth Too Tough To Die. It was the lineup with Marky which played a central role in the 1979 film Rock 'n' Roll High School, a film that Roger Corman originally called Disco High until writer/director Allan Arkush heard the Ramones.

Marky Ramone was eventually replaced by Richard Beau (under the name Richie Ramone) and then by Clem Burke before rejoining the band in 1990. Dee Dee Ramone leaves after 1989's Brain Drain, and is replaced by Christopher John Ward (C.J. Ramone).

After a spot in the 1996 Lollapalooza festival, The Ramones disbanded, reportedly due to ongoing personality clashes and frustration at not achieving success commensurate with their influence.

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Deaths

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Discography







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