Remembering The Ramones

With the news of drummer Tommy Ramone’s passing away at the age of 62 from bile duct (liver) cancer, I could not help but remember the Ramones as a band – Tommy and the other three original members of the group – Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee, and the effect they had on the popular music of the time.

Getting up this morning to see the news in my internet feed left me with a sad, empty feeling that remains difficult to get my head around. With Tommy’s passing, all four of the original band members are gone – and all of them before their time.

Singer Joey Ramone passed away in April of 2001 – one month shy of his 50^th birthday – from a form of cancer known as Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Bassist Dee Dee Ramone died of a heroin overdose in June of 2002. He was 50.

Guitarist Johnny Ramone died from prostate cancer in September of 2004 at the age of 55.

When the band’s first album arrived on the scene in 1976, I remember thinking their music to be as interesting as a pile of street puke. They were never known for their musicianship, either individually or collectively, but they had an ability to rock hard, and rock real. That musical honesty took them a long way, and by the time I returned from my travels back to Brooklyn in February of ’79, I was able to put my jazz ears aside and listen to all styles of music again. Once that happened, I was able to appreciate the Ramones for real and for good. I never looked back.

A number of my friends saw them live many times, especially when they played CBGB’s back in the 70’s. They are one band I did not get to see live on stage, although there were plenty of opportunities. C’est la vie.

It has been said often over the years that the first one through the wall always gets bloody. While I believe this to be true of many things in life, the fact they are all gone, and each at a young age, is just a bit over the top. I mean… how bloody does one have to get? Tommy lived to 62 – many consider that old, and that may have been true decades ago, but no longer. I know of many people living into their 90’s and have one friend whose mother passed away over 100. (God bless them all.)

I say first through the wall because the Ramones are considered by many to be the first Punk Rock band. Although I personally consider punk to be more of, if not exclusively, a British phenomenon, the group had more than a mildly significant influence on the early British punk artists – a fact no one denies. If by chance you do, give a listen to The Clash’s White Riot and let me know what you think. While the Clash moved on and incorporated other influences into their music, White Riot is a genetic clone of the Ramones’ sound.

However you personally choose to define the band and their music, they remain a uniquely American phenomenon, and although they stopped recording in the mid ‘90’s, their influence is still felt in artists ranging from Social Distortion and The Pretenders to Motorhead and Green Day. How many bands can claim such a legacy?

Few I can think of – but here is the fact of this sad day:

With the passing of Tommy Erdelyi Ramone, we are once again forced to acknowledge and accept the loss of one of our own.

We were young together, once – and sometimes it seems such a long time ago. On other days it seems like yesterday. But as long as the music is played, we will remain so – wherever we happen to be.

Here is a link to a show in England, December 31, 1977. Rumor is the concert was overdubbed in the studio at a later date.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVhjBmcOP30

So long guys. You are missed.

Rock Hard, Rock Deep, Rock Real.

Joey Hyman Ramone – (May 15, 1951 – April 15, 2014)

Dee Dee Douglas Colvin Ramone – (September 18, 1951 – June 5, 2002)

Johnny Cummings Ramone (October 8, 1951 – September 15, 2004)

Tommy Erdelyi Ramone (January 29, 1952 – July 11, 2014)

In order, from top to bottom: Tommy, Dee Dee, Johnny and Joey