The Ramones are an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite only achieving limited commercial success during their time together, the band is today seen as highly influential. They are best known for the songs "La Grange", "Blitzkrieg Pop" and ''Stop''.
All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname "Ramone", although none of them were biologically related; they were inspired by Paul McCartney, who would check into hotels as "Paul Ramone".
Recognition of the band's importance built over the years. The Ramones ranked number 26 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" and number 17 in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". The original four members and Tommy's (who came back in 2000 as the group's bassist vocalist during recording sessions for their 15th studio album) replacement on drums, Marky Ramone, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. In 2011, the group was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Ramones notably produced material with former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl for the group's seventh album Foo Fighters, where they provided the instrumental for the song ''Butterflies'', with backing vocals being provided by Joey Ramone. They have also collaborated with Krist Novoselic for a special live performance and Pat Smear and the recently reunited Germs for another special performance at the 50th anniversary of Woodstock (an event called Woodstock@50). In early 2020, the American punk rock band Rancid and the Ramones recorded a duet version of the song "Ruby Soho" for the album Seven Days Later.
The band's influence on popular music, especially alternative rock during the 2000s alongside other popular acts, has been extensive. In 2011, an unreleased 2003 song written by the band under the name "Comfortably Numb", was featured and heard for the first time on the soundtrack of the film Hop. The song has hidden lyrics about drug and alcohol abuse and Joey Ramone's struggles despite its upbeat and slow folk punk sound.
The Ramones has sold over 255 million records, making them one of the best-selling music acts of all time.
Discography[]
- Ramones (1976)
- Leave Home (1977)
- Rocket to Russia (1977)
- Road to Ruin (1978)
- End of the Century (1980)
- Pleasant Dreams (1981)
- Subterranean Jungle (1983)
- Too Tough to Die (1984)
- Animal Boy (1986)
- Halfway to Sanity (1987)
- Brain Drain (1989)
- Mondo Bizarro (1992)
- Acid Eaters (1993)
- ¡Adios Amigos! (1995)
- Don't Worry About Me (2001)
- Motherland (2005)
- Punk Isn't Dead! (2008)
- 35 (2009)
- Find My Way Back (2011)
- Wrap It Up (2015)
- Seven Days Later (2021)
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