The Ramones Biography

One of the founding members of the punk-rock movement, The Ramones burst onto New York's underground music scene in the mid-1970s. Although they were eclipsed by the popular success of English bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash, their relentless touring schedule and stubborn adherence to their founding principles earned them a consistent cult following.

The group formed in 1974 in Forest Hills, New York. The founding members -- Joey (Jeffrey Hyman), Dee Dee (Douglas Colvin), Johnny (John Cummings) and Tommy (Tommy Erdelyi) — jettisoned their birth names and adopted the surname "Ramone," a moniker once used as an alias by Beatle Paul McCartney.

Having either dropped out or squeaked through high school, the foursome saw rock stardom as an escape from a system they felt had nothing to offer. Disgusted with the ornate style and affectation of then-popular bands like Led Zeppelin, they sought inspiration from the purer forms of 1960s pop. They supercharged these bubble-gum melodies with a considerable dose of modern frustration and accompanied them with morbidly comic lyrics.

Their primitive style was not only a conceptual choice, but also a practical necessity. The decision to become rock stars pre-dated their ability to actually play instruments. Unable to mimic even their favorite contemporaries, The Ramones began composing their own music right off the bat. Their signature songs were simple, fast-paced, chord-heavy arrangements devoid of musical trimmings like solos and finger picking.

Sporting torn jeans and motorcycle jackets, The Ramones rose to local prominence through their performances at CBGB, a dilapidated club on Manhattan's Bowery that would later become the epicenter of the NYC punk movement. In 1975, they were signed to Sire Records, an independent label that welcomed their raw, determinedly unpolished sound.

Their first release, Ramones (1976), was initially panned by critics, but has since been reappraised as a milestone in the history of modern rock. Featuring songs like "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," and "Beat on the Brat," The Ramones' tongue-in-cheek anthems of rebellion earned them a solid cult following.

While The Ramones never received significant radio airplay, they maintained their popularity by touring heavily. Their 1976 tour of England planted the seed for the emergence of The Sex Pistols and The Clash.

During the next two decades, The Ramones produced over 20 albums. Although few performed well on the charts, their continuous touring schedule nurtured a devoted following. Despite several lineup changes, including the departure of Tommy and Dee Dee and the addition of Marc "Marky" Bell (1978), Richard "Ritchie" Beau (1983) and Chris "C.J." Ward (1989), The Ramones consistently drew large crowds to their high-energy live performances.

Their fierce devotion to their minimalist sound resisted the influence of record producers, who sought make them more palatable to a mainstream audience. However, many contemporary musicians have recently been citing the band as a fundamental influence. On March 19, 2002, The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

Joey Ramone died on April 15, 2001, at the age of 49 of lymphatic cancer. Dee Dee Ramone -- possibly the member of the band most faithful to the punk lifestyle -- died of a suspected drug overdose on June 5, 2002. Johnny Ramone died just two years later, on September 15, 2004, at the age of 55, after fighting prostate cancer.

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