All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname "Ramone", though none of them were related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years. In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played a farewell concert and disbanded. By a little more than eight years after the breakup, the band's three founding members—lead singer Joey Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone—had died. Drummer Tommy Ramone, the last surviving original member, died in 2014.
Their only record with enough U.S. sales to be certified gold was the compilation album Ramones Mania. However, recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now cited in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the Rolling Stone list of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time and VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In 2002, the Ramones were ranked the second-greatest band of all time by Spin magazine, trailing only The Beatles. On March 18, 2002, the Ramones—including the three founders and drummers Marky and Tommy Ramone—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2011, the group was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Formation: 1974–1975
Forest Hills High School, attended by the four original members of the Ramones
The original members of the band met in and around the middle-class neighborhood of Forest Hills in the New York City borough of Queens. John Cummings and Tamás Erdélyi had both been in a high-school garage band from 1966 to 1967 known as the Tangerine Puppets. They became friends with Douglas Colvin, who had recently moved to the area from Germany, and Jeffry Hyman, who was the initial lead singer of the glam rock band Sniper, founded in 1972.
The Ramones began taking shape in early 1974, when Cummings and Colvin invited Hyman to join them in a band. The initial lineup featured Colvin on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Cummings on lead guitar, and Hyman on drums. Colvin, who soon switched from rhythm guitar to bass, was the first to adopt the name "Ramone", calling himself Dee Dee Ramone. He was inspired by Paul McCartney's use of the pseudonym Paul Ramon during his Silver Beatles days. Dee Dee convinced the other members to take on the name and came up with the idea of calling the band the Ramones. Hyman and Cummings became Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone, respectively.
A friend of the band, Monte A. Melnick (later their tour manager), helped to arrange rehearsal time for them at Manhattan's Performance Studios, where he worked. Johnny's former bandmate Erdélyi was set to become their manager. Soon after the band was formed, Dee Dee realized that he could not sing and play his bass guitar simultaneously; with Erdélyi's encouragement, Joey became the band's new lead singer.
Dee Dee would continue, however, to count off each song's tempo with his signature rapid-fire shout of "1-2-3-4!" Joey soon similarly realized that he could not sing and play drums simultaneously and left the position of drummer. While auditioning prospective replacements, Erdélyi would often take to the drums and demonstrate how to play the songs. It became apparent that he was able to perform the group's music better than anyone else, and he joined the band as Tommy Ramone.
The Ramones played before an audience for the first time on March 30, 1974, at Performance Studios. The songs they played were very fast and very short; most clocked in at under two minutes. Around this time, a new music scene was emerging in New York centered around two clubs in downtown Manhattan—Max's Kansas City and, more famously, CBGB (usually referred to as CBGB's). The Ramones made their CBGB debut on August 16. Legs McNeil, who cofounded Punk magazine the following year, later described the impact of that performance: "They were all wearing these black leather jackets. And they counted off this song...and it was just this wall of noise.... They looked so striking. These guys were not hippies. This was something completely new."
The band swiftly became regulars at the club, playing there seventy-four times by the end of the year. After garnering considerable attention for their performances—which averaged about seventeen minutes from beginning to end—the group was signed to a recording contract in late 1975 by Seymour Stein of Sire Records. Stein's wife, Linda Stein, had seen the band play at CBGB; she would later co-manage them along with Danny Fields. By this time, the Ramones were recognized as leaders of the new scene that was increasingly being referred to as "punk". The group's unusual frontman had a lot to do with their impact. As Dee Dee explained, "All the other singers [in New York] were copying David Johansen [of The New York Dolls], who was copying Mick Jagger.... But Joey was unique, totally unique."
7-11
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now I'm in seventh heaven
Tell me, tell me
Can this be true
I never thought I'd ever
Meet a girl like you
She was standing by the Space Invaders
Yeah we went for a little spin
Down to the Holiday Inn
We was young and in love
We was young and in love
And you're the only girl
I'm ever thinking of
We went down to the record swap
The kids were dancing
To the blitzkrieg bop
Bop-shoo-wop shoo-wop shoo-wop
Bop-shoo-wop shoo-wop shoo-wop
What ever happened to the radio
And where did all the fun songs go
Summer fun, with the Beach Boys on
But we all know what went wrong
Oh-wo-wo
We was young and in love
We was young and in love
And you're the only girl
I'm ever dreaming of
And so we went down to the dance
Which turned into a whole romance
And after just one night
I never knew that things could be so right
Oh-no-no-no-no-no-no-no
I kissed her and hugged her
And I said good-bye
Last thing I knew
She wouldn't make it alive
Oncoming car went out of control
It crushed my baby
And it crushed my soul
Now all I've got is sorrow and pain
Standing out here in the rain
The crash, shattering glass
The sirens, and pain
Is driving me insane oh-yeah
We was young and in love
We was young and in love
And you're the only girl
I'm ever thinking of
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yea
The Ramones' song "7-11" is about the blissful joy of falling in love and the heart-wrenching pain of losing that love. The song begins optimistically with the singer recounting how he met a girl at a 7-11 store and how she made him feel like he was in "seventh heaven." He can't believe he's met someone like her and is immediately smitten. They go for a drive down to the Holiday Inn and go to a record swap where they dance to the Blitzkrieg Bop. The song is exuberant and celebratory until it takes a dramatic turn when the singer reveals that his love interest gets killed in a car accident. The last verse mourns his loss and paints a picture of his desolate, grief-ridden state.
"7-11" is a song that contrasts the elation of infatuation with the brutal pain of loss. As much as one feels as though they're in heaven when they're in love, loss can make one feel like they're in hell. The song also speaks to the brief, fragile nature of life and love, implying that things can change in an instant.
Line by Line Meaning
I met her at the 7-11
I found my love at a convenience store.
Now I'm in seventh heaven
I am extremely happy and content with my new found love.
Tell me, tell me Can this be true
I am in disbelief and need confirmation that this is really happening.
I never thought I'd ever Meet a girl like you
I never expected to find someone like you and fall in love with them.
She was standing by the Space Invaders
She was hanging out by the arcade game Space Invaders.
So I said can I see you later
I asked her if she would like to meet up again sometime.
Yeah we went for a little spin Down to the Holiday Inn
We went on a short car ride to the Holiday Inn.
We was young and in love And you're the only girl I'm ever thinking of
We were young and deeply in love, and I only have eyes for her.
We went down to the record swap The kids were dancing To the blitzkrieg bop Bop-shoo-wop shoo-wop shoo-wop Bop-shoo-wop shoo-wop shoo-wop
We went to a music swap where everyone was dancing to the fast-paced song Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones.
What ever happened to the radio And where did all the fun songs go Summer fun, with the Beach Boys on But we all know what went wrong Oh-wo-wo
I am reminiscing about the good old days when the radio played fun songs like the Beach Boys, but I also acknowledge that times have changed.
And so we went down to the dance Which turned into a whole romance And after just one night I never knew that things could be so right Oh-no-no-no-no-no-no-no
We went to a dance together, and it sparked a romantic relationship. After just one night together, I knew that she was the one for me.
I kissed her and hugged her And I said good-bye Last thing I knew She wouldn't make it alive Oncoming car went out of control It crushed my baby And it crushed my soul Now all I've got is sorrow and pain Standing out here in the rain The crash, shattering glass The sirens, and pain Is driving me insane oh-yeah
I said goodbye to my love and the last thing I knew, she had passed away in an accident caused by a car that lost control. Her death has left me with a deep sense of grief and agony, and I am standing in the rain trying to cope with her loss.
We was young and in love And you're the only girl I'm ever thinking of Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yea
Despite her loss, I will always cherish the memories of our love and she will remain the only girl I ever think of.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DEE DEE RAMONE, DOUGLAS COLVIN, JEFFREY HYMAN, JOEY RAMONE, JOHN (RAMONE) CUMMINGS, JOHNNY RAMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Racheal Plymale
on I Wanna Be Sedated (Live)
My Alltime favorite band!!!!!!!!! Joey Ramone was yummmy!!!!!