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."
Chainsaw
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sitting here with nothin' to do
Sitting here thinkin' only of you
But you'll never get out of there
She'll never get out of there
Sitting here with nothin' to do
Sitting here thinkin' only of you
She'll never get out of there
I don't care, wohoho
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
They took my baby away from me
But she'll never get out of there
She'll never get out of there
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
They took my baby away from me
But she'll never get out of there
She'll never get out of there
I don't care, wohoho
When I saw her on the corner
She told me told me told me told me
She wouldn't go far
Ooh, now I know I'm so much in love
'Cause she's the only girl that I'm ever thinking of
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
They took my baby away from me
But she'll never get out of there
She'll never get out of there
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
They took my baby away from me
But she'll never get out of there
I don't care, I don't care, wohoho
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
Oh no, oh yeah
Oh no, oh yeah
Oh no, oh yeah
Oh no, oh yeah
Oh no, oh yeah
The Ramones’ “Chain Saw” is a song that taps into the collective fear of being trapped and helpless. The singer finds himself sitting and thinking about the object of his affection, and she is stuck in a place where escape seems impossible. The repeated line “She’ll never get out of there” suggests an unsettling sense of finality, indicating that something terrible has happened or will happen. The mention of the “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” is a nod to the notorious 1974 horror film of the same name, adding a layer of horror to the already tense atmosphere of the lyrics. The film’s use of extreme violence and desperate, primal fear reflected the anxieties of the era, and it remains a classic of the horror genre.
The song’s driving beat, power chord riff, and growling vocals make for an intense, head-banging experience that captures the raw energy and urgency of punk rock. The Ramones are known for their minimalist approach to songwriting and their concise, hard-hitting lyrics, and “Chain Saw” is no exception. The lyrics are spare and direct, creating a sense of urgency and immediacy that contributes to the song’s tension.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Expressing boredom and lack of excitement.
Sitting here with nothin' to do
The singer is empty-handed with no activity to undertake.
Sitting here thinkin' only of you
The singer is preoccupied with thoughts of a hypothetical lover.
But you'll never get out of there
The love interest is trapped in a mental or physical state, thus unreachable.
She'll never get out of there
Continuation of the above sentiment.
I don't care, wohoho
The singer displays recklessness and total disregard for the desired outcome.
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
A Film reference to a grotesque horror movie about a chainsaw-wielding maniac.
They took my baby away from me
The reference suggests an unexpected separation or an unwarranted loss of affection.
When I saw her on the corner
The artist is recounting the first encounter with the love interest.
She told me told me told me told me
An exaggeration of the female's eagerness and easy access to the artist.
She wouldn't go far
The lover insists on intimacy only within a confined radius.
Ooh, now I know I'm so much in love
The artist professes to have fallen completely in love with the love interest.
'Cause she's the only girl that I'm ever thinking of
The singer's infatuation is solely fixated on the love interest.
I don't care, I don't care, wohoho
Reiteration of the disdainful apathy towards the situation.
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"
Continuity of the film reference.
Oh no, oh yeah
An expression of ambivalence or doubt.
Oh no, oh yeah
Continuation of the above sentiment.
Oh no, oh yeah
Continuation of the above sentiment.
Oh no, oh yeah
Continuation of the above sentiment.
Oh no, oh yeah
Echoing the ambivalence when a decision needs to be made.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Douglas Colvin, Jeff Hyman, John Cummings, Thomas Erdelyi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Racheal Plymale
on I Wanna Be Sedated (Live)
My Alltime favorite band!!!!!!!!! Joey Ramone was yummmy!!!!!