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 And 7 Is
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd sit inside a bottle and pretend that I was in a can
In my lonely room I'd sit my mind in an ice cream cone
You can throw me if you wanna 'cause I'm a bone and I go
Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip, yeah!
If I don't start cryin' it's because that I have got no eyes
My father's in the fireplace and my dog lies hypnotizedThrough a crack of light I was unable to find my way
Trapped inside a night but I'm a day and I go
Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip, yeah!
One, two, three, four!
The Ramones's "7 And 7 Is" has deep lyrical content, even though on its surface, it might seem random and meaningless. The first verse contains an expression of yearning for adulthood, saying "When I was a boy, I thought about the times I'd be a man." But, the next lines are abstract, making it difficult to determine what the songwriter meant. The lines, "I'd sit inside a bottle and pretend that I was in a can" and "In my lonely room I'd sit my mind in an ice cream cone" are unusual phrases that can be difficult to interpret. They might suggest imagination, boredom, or isolation. The next line, "You can throw me if you wanna 'cause I'm a bone and I go," shows more confidence, and the singer seems to be asserting himself. It could be interpreted as a statement of bravery or resilience.
The second verse of the song is equally as abstract, perhaps even more so. It talks of a world that is filled with darkness, and the singer seems to be lost within it. "If I don't start cryin', it's because that I have got no eyes," is a mysterious line that could be about emotional numbness or desensitization. The image of the father in the fireplace and the dog lying hypnotized might suggest domestic violence or trauma. It's not clear what the crack of light represents, but the singer says he was "unable to find [his] way." He still asserts his identity, though, saying "Trapped inside a night but I'm a day, and I go." The end of every line is punctuated by the phrase "Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip, yeah!", which can be interpreted in any number of ways such as joy, anger or a vindictive spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
As a child, I dreamt of growing up and becoming a man
The singer reminisces about his childhood and how he used to daydream about achieving adulthood.
I used to imagine being trapped in a bottle and felt like I'm in a can
As a young boy, the singer envisioned himself as an object trapped within a tight space.
In my lonesome quarters, my thoughts melted like ice cream
The singer's solitude feelings were intense, and he lost his thoughts and emotions just like ice cream melts away.
I am unbreakable and resilient, go ahead and try chucking me because I'm just bones
The singer claims to be unbreakable and resilient, suggesting that he wouldn't be easily defeated or affected by any situation.
Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip Yeah!
The singer yelled with excitement and joy.
I'm not crying because I'm incapable of doing so
The singer confesses not to cry because he's unable to do so due to his lack of tears.
My father burns in the fireplace while my dog lies hypnotized
There is turmoil in the singer's life, and the metaphorical burning of his father and the hypnosis of his dog represent the psychological chaos he experiences.
I can't see through a crack of light and feel lost
The singer feels trapped within his life, unable to find a way out, leaving him wandering helplessly.
Trapped inside the night, but I'm a day and I go
The singer expresses his resilience and suggests that he is the opposite of the darkness he feels because he is a bright day.
Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip Yeah!
The singer screams with excitement and joy, and a countdown precedes the chaos that follows it.
One... Two... Three... Four!
The singer counts down to a new chapter in his life, with the song's high speed and intensity invoking the urgency of change's arrival.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Arthur Lee
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Racheal Plymale
on I Wanna Be Sedated (Live)
My Alltime favorite band!!!!!!!!! Joey Ramone was yummmy!!!!!