Lace those sneakers and zip up your MC jacket and set the volume to louder than loud because today my legions we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the very first Ramones album, an eponymously titled LP, cassette and 8-track tape called “Ramones”. It’s almost hard to believe that the Punk Rock sound pretty much began with these four guys from Queens but as a NYC resident I have to say that it’s pretty awesome to know that such music is a Big Apple property. Now before going any deeper into this reflection I have to say that while I have been a Ramones fan for AT LEAST thirty-six years, my learnings about them began with their fifth album “End Of The Century” and from there I went backwards to open my young musical mind to the beginnings. I knew some tracks from the release when I began my own exploration because by that time in my history a whole lot or Ramones tunes were on the radio. Considering I was just almost 11 when “Ramones” was released to the general masses, I can honestly admit that my parents were NOT playing me Punk Rock music at the time nor owned a copy of this now historic release. Truth be told there was not truly a title for the format until this album had some shelf life. The Ramones formed back in 1974 after having met at Forest Hills High School and the original lineup consisted of Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone and Tommy Ramone. “Ramones” was a stage identity and the member’s real names in order were Jeffrey Hyman, John Cummings, Douglas Colvin and Thomas Erdelyi. Sadly, all of the original members have passed away with Joey being the first back in 2001, Dee Dee 2002, Johnny 2004 and the last with Tommy in 2014. At least the band got into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002 and it amazes me that the institution was actually timely about something.
Continue reading The Debut Ramones Album “Ramones” Hits 40 – Punk Rock Is Born
Tag Archives: punk rock legends
Happy Birthday Joey Ramone
Today is the birthday of Jeffrey Ross Hyman who the world most commonly knows as the Godfather of Punk – Joey Ramone. Sadly the music world lost Joey after a lengthy battle with lymphoma back in April of 2001. It was just a month and a couple of days shy of his 50th birthday. Had he beaten the illness and managed to keep rocking with us, he would have been 60 years old today. It is without question that The Ramones are one of the most important and influential bands that ever walked upon the Punk, Rock and even Metal scene when you consider just how many musicians were affected by their body of work.
History shows how The Ramones as a band came into their prominence upon the new Punk Rock scene on the stages of the now shuttered C.B.G.B.’s club, but a couple of years after he passed away on November 30, 2003, East 2nd and Bowery was renamed “Joey Ramone Place” in his honor. It is said that both he and Dee Dee Ramone lived their during their early band years. I snapped the photo above while attending a Metal show at the Bowery Electric club which is located right there.
The music world will likely never see another band like The Ramones, and at this time in music history only found drummer Tommy Ramone and his replacement Marky Ramone from the bands seminal lineup remain with us. We truly miss all of them and thank them for their contributions. Learn more about Joey Ramone with his Wikipedia entry HERE.
“Raw” by The Ramones
Artist: Ramones
Title: “Raw”
Label: Image Entertainment
Release Date: 9/28/2004
Genre: Punk Rock
Rating: 7.5/10
The Ramones are the forefathers of the Punk Generation and this DVD from Image Entertainment is a nice way to absorb a great amount of their influential music as well as enjoy a lot of the chaos that went on in their daily touring lives. At times the DVD seems a bit scattered because the way it is put together. It is primarily films shot on tour by drummer Marky Ramone on his recorder and this cuts between either live or studio performances and interviews with the band. A lot of it is amusing because the films capture the antics very well and show that this band of friends enjoyed what they did while they did it. Overall you see that they were pretty much just regular guys from New York City who ended up defining the way Punk Music would be delivered for decades to come. Their popularity around the world is apparent in the large amount of crowd chasing the band in their taxis segments which while amusing I felt were too long. I would have preferred more live music or added interviews. There are however a couple of historic moments featured and most specifically the unveiling of “Joey Ramone Way” which is outside the legendary CBGB’s Club where the band got their start. Sadly 2006 finds the world with three of the Ramones passed on from illness and demons. Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee have all left us leaving only Marky who has been seen as a member of a reunited Misfits most recently. I would have to say that even though this video seems disjointed that the included TV appearances such as Uncle Floyd and an early Howard Stern show comprise a very interesting five hours of footage. It’s a nice amount of stuff for the dollar. A color booklet with the finer details of every included appearance and musical item is included and a good reference to the DVD.
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