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."
I Can't Be
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
Now you say,you want to live with me.
1,2,3 you want to have a family.
Now you say, you want to do my laundry.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
The lyrics to Ramones's song "I Can't Be" convey a sense of bewilderment and frustration on the part of the singer. The repeated lines of "I can't be ooh what you want from me" suggest that the singer is being asked to fulfill some sort of impossible expectation or demand. The singer lists various things that the other person wants from them -- to live together, start a family, do their laundry -- and the singer is unable to make sense of it all or comply with these requests.
In some ways, the lyrics can be read as a commentary on the pressures of conformity and traditional expectations in relationships. The repeated "ooh" in the chorus feels like a plea or a cry of frustration, as if the singer is saying, "I can't be what you want me to be." The counting of "1,2,3" suggests a sort of childlike simplicity or innocence that is being threatened by the demands being placed on the singer.
Overall, the lyrics to "I Can't Be" convey a sense of overwhelm and confusion that will likely be relatable to many listeners. The song recognizes that sometimes, we simply cannot be what others want or expect us to be, no matter how much we may want to try.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I am unable to fulfill your expectations or desires.
Now you say, you want to live with me.
You have expressed a desire to cohabitate with me.
1,2,3 you want to have a family.
You have indicated a desire to start a family with me.
Now you say, you want to do my laundry.
You have expressed a desire to take care of my domestic chores.
I can't think, ooh what you want from me.
I am feeling overwhelmed with your expectations and am experiencing brain fog.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I am unable to meet your expectations or desires.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I am incapable of being what you want me to be.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I cannot fulfill the role or expectation you have for me in your life.
I can't be ooh what you want from me.
I am unable to satisfy your needs or wants.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management
Written by: DEE DEE RAMONE, DOUGLAS COLVIN, JEFFREY HYMAN, JOEY RAMONE, JOHN (RAMONE) CUMMINGS, JOHNNY RAMONE, THOMAS ERDELYI, TOMMY RAMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Cabot
The craziest thing about the first Ramones demo (this being recording in February 2nd, 1975) is to think about reference points from that period. Who the fuck was doing this kind of thing in early '75? It's mind boggling that this actually existed in February 1975 (and fair to assume, given the recording date, probably 1974)
Caio vaz
Stooges was playing like this on 73 Raw power
dylan c:
they started in the summer of 74 but didn’t start recording demos til early 75 after Seymour Stein picked them up
The Triumph of the Thrill
Like most great bands they had it from the start.
Iván Meza
nunca lo había oído!! nunca me dejan de sorprender..
Jonathan Mitchell
Dee Dee was a fucking genius.
Elron Humpperdink
@Daniel Freed straight to the guts like a sucker punch... I agree on simple lyrics. Even writing your own is the same way. You have stuff you wanna elaborately say, only to come around to it being said in one offhanded comment.
Cathan ramone
Was not joey thst wrote it
Daniel Freed
His lyrics are so simple and kind of stupid... But at the same time, they're absolutely brilliant
Frater incognitus
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