Early Beginnings
Often regarded as the first true punk-rock group, the Ramones were an American punk band whose music influenced later generations of punk bands. Their story begins in Queens, NY, where the band members took their musical influences (The New York Dolls, The Stooges) and channeled them to create their own songs.
While most of the band members had been involved in various bands since the late 1960's, nothing stuck. The original band members included Jeffrey Hyman (Joey Ramone), John Cummings, (Johnny Ramone), Douglas Colvin, (Dee Dee Ramone), and Richie Stern. Colvin came up with the idea to use stage names, and used the name Dee Dee Ramone to check into hotels.
With that, the band was born and became the Ramones. However, because the majority of the band members could not sing and play an instrument at the same time, they were left with a vacant drummers seat. The Ramones long-time aquaintance and manager, Thomas Erdelyi, knew how to play the drums and could honestly play their songs better than anyone else. He joined the band as Tommy Ramone.
Performance History
On March 30th, 1974, the Ramones played their first show at the Performance Studio in New York City. In the beginning, their songs were typical of the burgeoning punk subculture and were played very fast and were very short.
It became apparent in the early 1970's that a new music scene was beginning to emerge, and clubs like CBGB's were inhabited by many of the emerging 70's bands who preferred to play on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The Ramones were notorious for their shows at CBGB's, and often played their set twice because it was so short.
They gained a fair amount of attention from their performances at CBGB's, and as such were signed to a recording contract with Sire Records in the fall of 1975. Their debut album, Ramones, was produced on a very low budget of only 6,400 dollars.
Outside of New York, their band was met with less than favorable reactions. When they began touring England however, the Ramones effort began to pay off. Their tours of England influenced later generations of UK punk bands, but they were met with considerably less fanfair when they returned to their home country - their subsequent two albums failed miserably. After this, Tommy left the band and was replaced with Marc Bell, who then became Marky Ramone.
The 1980's and 1990's
In 1979, after the bands appearance in Roger Corman's Rock 'n' Roll High School, accomplished producer Phil Spector became very interested in the band and produced their 1980 album End of the Century. The album failed to garner attention from the public, as did their subsequent follow up albums. By this point, the Ramones were struggling to maintain their identity as the frontrunner of the punk music scene.
The band went through several member changes during the prolific 1980's and 90's, the first being Marky Ramone who was fired in 1983 due to his addiction to alcohol. Richard Reinhardt (Richie Ramone) replaced Marky during this time, and the band recorded three albums before Richie left the band in August 1987.
Clem Burke (known as Elvis Ramone) from Blondie replaced Richie, but he only lasted two shows before a sober Marky Ramone reappeared and asked to join the band once again. This was a blessing in disguise, becase Burke's drumming style did not mesh with the standards the Ramones had for their musical sound.
Shortly afterwards, Dee Dee Ramone left the band to pursue a solo career as a rapper, and was replaced by Christopher Joseph Ward (C.J. Ramone) in 1989. C.J. remained with the band until their breakup, but Dee Dee continued to provide lyrics to the band for use in their songs. In 1995, the Ramones finally recorded their last studio album, AdiosAmigos!
The Ramones Break-Up
It seemed inevitable that the band would eventually break up, especially given the tension between Johnny and Joey Ramone. After their stint in 1996's Lollapalooza festival, the Ramones disbanded. While the reasons behind the bands breakup are shrouded in a bit of mystery, their breakup was determined to be due to personality clashes and frustration at their lack of mainstream success.
Johnny was also reported to have drug problems, but only admitted that he was a heavy drinker throughout the majority of the 1980's. Their final show occurred August 6th, 1996 at the Palace in Hollywood. Then, in 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where Johnny, Tommy, Marky, and Dee Dee spoke on behalf of the band. Two months after this appearance, Dee Dee died of a heroin overdose.
The bands history may have been incredibly tumultuous, but there's no doubt that their musical works influenced untold later generations of punk bands. While the Ramones may not have garnered the mainstream success they'd hoped for, their music continues to live on and inspire musicians and fans alike.
