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."
Psycho Therapy
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's what they want to give me
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, psycho therapy
What they want to give me
I'm a teenage schizoid, the one your parent despise
Psycho therapy, now I got glowing eyes
Psycho therapy, gonna kill someone
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, psycho therapy
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, psycho therapy
I like takin' tuinal, it keeps me edgy and mean
I'm a teenage schizoid, I'm a teenage dope fiend
I'm a kid in the nuthouse, I'm a kid in the psycho zone
Psycho therapy, I'm gonna burglarize your home
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, hey
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, psycho therapy
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, psycho therapy
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, psycho therapy
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, psycho therapy
The song "Psycho Therapy" by the Ramones is a reflection of rebellious youth, who are misunderstood by their parents and are forced into psychiatric treatment. The repetition of the lyrics "Psycho therapy" highlights the conflict between the singer and authority figures who want to medicate and institutionalize him, while he seeks to express himself through violence and drugs. The song also conveys a sense of frustration with society's expectations of conformity and the suppression of one's true nature. The phrase "I'm a teenage schizoid" further emphasizes the feeling of being an outcast, and the references to pranks, muggings, and burglary convey a sense of danger and delinquency. The last line of the song "Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, hey" suggests that the singer is resigned to his fate and does not have any other options to cope with his situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, psycho therapy
The repetition of the phrase is an indication of the relentless demand for psychotherapy from those who perceive a person to be abnormal.
That's what they want to give me
The idea of psychotherapy is placed upon the person who is deemed unfit by society and is, therefore, suggested as therapy by those who think they know best.
I'm a teenage schizoid, the one your parent despise
The singer of the story is a teenager who is hated by parents because they do not conform to societal norms and the image of a 'good' child.
Psycho therapy, now I got glowing eyes
Despite therapy, the artist hasn't been able to find peace and is out of control, as described by the glowing eyes.
I'm a teenage schizoid, pranks and muggings are fun
The person enjoys engaging in behavior that is seen as destructive, which is a result of their mental illness and inability to fit in with society.
Psycho therapy, gonna kill someone
The therapy hasn't worked, and the person has become dangerous enough to consider committing murder.
I like takin' tuinal, it keeps me edgy and mean
The person finds solace in drugs and likes the effect that it has on their personality.
I'm a teenage schizoid, I'm a teenage dope fiend
The person's drug use continues to be a symptom of their mental illness and their attempts to cope with it.
I'm a kid in the nuthouse, I'm a kid in the psycho zone
The artist is being treated in a mental institution, which is a result of their mental illness.
Psycho therapy, I'm gonna burglarize your home
Despite the therapy, the person remains destructive and is even going to burglarize someone's home.
Psycho therapy, psycho therapy, hey
The repetition of the phrase emphasizes the severity of the situation and the need for help.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DEE DEE RAMONE, DOUGLAS COLVIN, JEFFREY HYMAN, JOEY RAMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gwynnielsen5081
The Ramones definitely were creative. They also had a sense of humor.
@fulanitoantinazi
Macabre, ironic, satirical,
but above all a faithful reflection of the mental health of the entire society.
@stephenherbertson4544
My step-dad is one of the mental patients walking around in a few shots! The guy wearing the thick glasses! lol
@jesscooney8443
Awesome
@22Hammy
Wow really, cool to be in a Ramones music vid
@llanes-jd8508
He is ok? :V
@_bloodshape_6103
your dad is joey ramone?
@kalilsiqueira8980
Hope he's cured now.
@charlesmaximus9161
This was the very first Ramones song and the very first punk rock song I ever heard. I was 9 years old, 1991. My whole world changed after that. Still holds up, you never forget things like that. Adults just don’t hear music like this the same way the kids do. And that’s what it’s all about.
@hjillumi880
omg.