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 Control Myself
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your slacks are low and your hips are showin'
I take you girl as you're standin' there
Your low cut slacks and your long black hair
Don't want you goin' round with no one else
Cause when I'm with you I can't control myself
Defenses down and you got me shakin'You got me so that my nerves are breakin'
If you knew me like I know you girl
Your knees would bend and your hair would curl
You make me move yea like no one else
Cause when I'm with you I can't control myself
I've got this feeling that's inside of me
It makes me think of how things used to be
It makes me feel alright
When I'm with you at night and we love
And we love
You thrill me so with this big temptation
This kind of feelin' could move a nation
And I'm okay when I'm here with you
I do the things that you want me to
I do these things for no one else 'cause when I'm with you I can't control myself
I can't control myself
I can't control myself
I can't control myself
I can't control myself
I can't control myself, baby
The Ramones' song "I Can't Control Myself" is a classic rock song about the powerful feelings of attraction and desire that the singer feels towards his love interest. The lyrics describe the physical attractiveness of the girl, who is wearing low-cut slacks and has long black hair. The singer is unable to control his movements and keeps shaking, with his defenses down. He feels a strong temptation, and the feeling inside him reminds him of how things used to be. He is willing to do anything for the girl, who makes him move like no one else.
The song is likely inspired by the rock and roll era of the 1950s and 1960s, with its characteristic upbeat rhythm and catchy chorus. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but the energy and intensity of the music convey the powerful emotions of the singer. The Ramones were known for their fast-paced, stripped-down approach to rock music and this song is no exception.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't stand still cause you've got me goin'
You have such an effect on me that I can't help but move around and be energized
Your slacks are low and your hips are showin'
Your clothing accentuates your figure and attracts me
I take you girl as you're standin' there
I am admiring you in this moment
Your low cut slacks and your long black hair
Your clothing and hairstyle contribute to your overall attractiveness
Don't want you goin' round with no one else
I am possessive of you and don't want anyone else to have you
Cause when I'm with you I can't control myself
Being around you makes me lose my self-control and I am completely drawn to you
Defenses down and you got me shakin'
I am vulnerable and trembling because of you
You got me so that my nerves are breakin'
Your presence is overwhelming and nerve-wracking to me
If you knew me like I know you girl
If you understood my feelings towards you
Your knees would bend and your hair would curl
You would be overwhelmed with desire just like I am
You make me move yea like no one else
Your effect on me is unlike anyone else's
Cause when I'm with you I can't control myself
I am powerless to resist you when I am around you
I've got this feeling that's inside of me
I have strong emotions that are welling up inside of me
It makes me think of how things used to be
These emotions remind me of past experiences
It makes me feel alright
These emotions are comforting to me and make me feel okay
When I'm with you at night and we love
Being with you at night and being intimate is what causes these emotions to come to the surface
You thrill me so with this big temptation
You excite me greatly and are like a big temptation to me
This kind of feelin' could move a nation
The intensity of these feelings is so great that it could influence an entire group of people
And I'm okay when I'm here with you
Being with you puts me at ease and makes everything okay
I do the things that you want me to
I am willing to do whatever you ask of me because of my strong feelings towards you
I do these things for no one else 'cause when I'm with you I can't control myself
I am only this willing to please and act a certain way when I am with you and under your influence
I can't control myself
I am completely consumed by my feelings for you and can't control my actions or thoughts
I can't control myself
My attraction to you is so strong that I can't resist it or control it
I can't control myself
I am completely powerless in the face of my desire for you
I can't control myself
Even though I know I should be able to control myself, my feelings towards you override my ability to do so
I can't control myself, baby
This loss of control is a constant and ongoing problem for me when it comes to you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: REG PRESLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Racheal Plymale
on I Wanna Be Sedated (Live)
My Alltime favorite band!!!!!!!!! Joey Ramone was yummmy!!!!!