TBT: Notes on Johnny Ramone
It Was 20 Years Ago This Month that the Ramones Were Inducted into the Rock Hall
I don’t have much to add to this piece, which I wrote in 2004 upon the death of guitarist Johnny Ramone. Joey Ramone, the 6-foot, 6-inch lead singer, died in 2001, a car before the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Johnny Ramone was a driving force for a band that remains influential today — something that likely would have shocked its members. The Ramones took on the role of street tough, played at their primitiveness with their tongue firmly planted in their cheek. But, man, did they create some brilliant punk rock. Without The Ramones, it could be argued, there would be no Sex Pistols, no Clash, no hard core scene in Britain.
Here is the opening of the piece I wrote for Pop Matters (Go to the site to read the full piece):
I used to wear black canvas Converse high-top sneakers back in the early 1980s. And a leather jacket. And my hair was kind of long.
I was 20 and I listened to the Ramones.
I thought about digging out the pair of black Converse I bought a couple of years as a tribute when I heard that Johnny Ramone had died. Ramone, born Johnny Cummings, died September 15 at his home in California of prostate cancer.
He was the third of the band’s original lineup to die. Lead singer Joey died of throat cancer in 2001 and Dee Dee, the bass player, died in 2002 of what was believed to be a drug overdose.
Johnny was in many ways the driving force behind the band, a fierce defender of the band’s image. Joey and Dee Dee, were the chief songwriters, but Johnny was anchor that kept the band working, focusing on business and his rapid-fire guitar assault - he attacked the chords on the down-stroke and eschewed solos were as responsible as anything creating the band’s sound.