The Unique History Behind The Ramones

Matt Beat of The Beat Goes On, who provides abbreviated but detailed histories of legendary rock bands, focused on the origins and legacy of the iconic punk rock band The Ramones.

He talks about how the band was formed, how they each took on the surname of Ramone, how their manager became the drummer, their unique look, and their strange new sound, which caught the eye of promoters at the iconic (now defunct) club CBGB.

On August 16, 1974, the Ramones played their now famous first show at the aforementioned CBGB. Dee Dee shouted out his later trademark 1-2-3-4 to help the band jump into each song. This is something that A LOT of bands do today, by the way, but at the time it was a new thing. …Soon the band earned a residency at CBGB. For the rest of the year, they played there at least 70 more times.

Beat goes on to talk about their studio albums, their relentless touring, their iconic debut in London, their subsequent movies, and their eventual disillusioned dissolution.

The Ramones played their final show on August 6, 1996 at the Palace in Hollywood. A… On July 20, 1999, Dee Dee and Tommy reunited with Joey, Johnny, Marky and C.J. at the Virgin Megastore in New York City for an autograph signing ….It was the last time all four original members of the band appeared in public together. … Joey died from lymphoma on April 15, 2001. Dee Dee died from a heroin overdose on June 5, 2002. Johnny died from prostate cancer on September 15, 2004. And Tommy died on July 11, 2014 of bile duct cancer.

The Ramones were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Luckily, most of the band was alive for the honor.

Dee Dee, Johnny, and Tommy DID live to see the Ramones inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 18, 2002, and Johnny said it would have meant a lot to Joey to find out about it.