Johnny Ramone, a founding member and guitarist of the pioneering punk act the Ramones died last week (15th Sept) at the age of 55. He died of prostate cancer.
Born John Cummings in New York on Oct. 8, 1948. He and three other musicians formed the group in 1974, taking the name from an alias Paul McCartney sometimes used in hotels. He is the third of the quartet's original members to have died in the past four years: vocalist Joey Ramone (real name: Jeffrey Hyman) succumbed to lymphatic cancer in 2001, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone (real name: Douglas Colvin) died from a drug overdose in 2002. The fourth original Ramone, drummer Tommy (real name: Thomas Erdelyi), left the band in 1978.
The band's bare-essentials music paved the way for such mega-successful ‘90s groups as Nirvana and Green Day. But the Ramones were never fully understood or embraced until it was too late. None of their songs (including Blitzkrieg Bop, I Wanna Be Sedated, The KKK took my baby away and We want the Airwaves) rocketed into the Top 10, because their music was primitive (four chords, a catchy melody, inane lyrics) and because their look wasn’t exactly camera-friendly (dark mop haircuts, torn jeans and leather jackets), the Ramones barely rose above cult status.
Yet their influence was great enough to land a 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And in theaters now (and coming soon to the UK), is End of the Century: The Ramones Story, a documentary that details the band’s tumultuous history. It’s typical that artists who were underappreciated in their time are re-evaluated and celebrated after death. Now that Johnny’s gone, only one member of the original quartet is still alive: drummer Tommy Ramone.
For more on the band checkout their official website; www.ramones.com
Recommended listening: Ramones Leave Home & Rocket to Russia (both 1977) and Road to Ruin (1978).