Ramones: America's Punk Pioneer

    No American punk band was more influential in the 1970's and 1980's than Queens, New York based band "The Ramones". Since forming in 1974, the band became the first truly iconic American punk band and they were a heavy influence on followers in the punk and pop punk scene. While each member's last name was Ramone on stage, none of the band members were related (they assumed pseudonyms on stage). The band toured virtually nonstop since 1976, the year of their first album's release, for about 20 years before calling it quits after the Lollapalooza festival in 1996. While each founding member is now dead, they left a legacy on the punk world that has been nearly impossible to match.
    The band members met in the Queens area in the early 1970's. John Cummings, Douglas Colvin, and Jeffry Hyman formed the band in 1974 with friend Thomas Erdelyi as manager. The band members assumed the names Johnny, Dee Dee, and Joey Ramone, respectively. As band members found difficulty singing and playing their instruments, though, Erdelyi became known as Tommy Ramone and took over the drummer role while Joey went to lead vocals. With bassist Dee Dee and guitarist Johnny, they began creating an assault of short but aggressive songs that earned them a wide audience across the Queens area, as they would often play the now renowned CBGB club in New York early in their career. Their debut album "Ramones" came out in 1976 and included the famous "Blitzkrieg Bop", which still stands as one of the greatest hard rock songs of all time. They continued their assault on the punk world, while not achieving much in terms of commercial success, throughout the remainder of the 1970's.
    As the years went on, the Ramones began shifting to a more pop influenced sound, best showcased by the song "I Wanna Be Sedated", which was featured on the 1978 album "Road to Ruin". The band then began to have tensions and many new members were necessary, leaving the band's future in serious doubt. In the 1980's, Ramones songs became much more politically angry, which was a major driving force behind the pop punk revolution (particularly in 2004, which will be discussed in a later post). However, original band members Tommy and Dee Dee had already left, and talks of disbanding began to erupt. The Ramones played their last show in 1996, still with the same aggression and style that they had 20 years prior. Since then, all 3 original members have died, but the band's sound, attitude, and demeanor became one of the most important influences on the first wave of pop punk bands in the United States, which will be introduced in the next post. This blog would not be possible without the Ramones, however, as without them, the pop punk sound may have never been what it is today.




RELFECTION QUESTIONS:
1. Were the Ramones actually Ramones?
2. Which album first showed the shift to a more pop influenced sound?
3. What elements did the Ramones have as a band that influenced the modern pop punk sound?




CITATION:
PARELES, J. (1995, August 9). POP REVIEW - POP REVIEW - The Ramones, 20 Years Later and Still the Same - Review - NYTimes.com. NY Times Advertisement. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/09/arts/pop-review-the-ramones-20-years-later-and-still-the-same.html...