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."
The Job That Ate My Brain
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gotta catch the bus and train
I'm in a rush and feelin' insane
I can't take this crazy pace
I've become a mental case
Yeah, this is the job that ate my brain
Face the boss, he's such a nag
In a suit and in a tie
I look so late I wanna die
I can't take this crazy pace
I've become a mental case
Yeah, this is the job that ate my brain
I punch the clock at 9:05
I know I'm late, but still alive
Everyone just stares at me
(I'm last in line for this party)
I can't take this crazy pace
I've become a mental case
Yeah, this is the job that ate my brain
Five o'clock rolls around
I feel so glad I kiss the ground
Ain't enough hours in the day
There's go to be a better way
I can't take this crazy pace
I've become a mental case
Yeah, this is the job that ate my brain
The Ramones’ song “The Job That Ate My Brain” is a commentary on the daily grind of working life. The song captures the feeling of being trapped in a dead-end job and the toll it can take on a person’s mental health. The lyrics describe the rush to get to work on time, the monotony of the workday, and the relief of finally getting off work at the end of the day.
The opening lines of the song set the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The singer is out of bed early, rushing to get ready for work, feeling overwhelmed by the demands of the day. He feels like he’s losing his mind, unable to keep up with the fast pace of his job. He describes himself as a “mental case,” drained by the daily grind.
The chorus of the song acts as a refrain, with the singer repeatedly lamenting that “this is the job that ate my brain.” He is trapped in a cycle of work, with no way out, and he feels like his job is slowly destroying his mental and emotional wellbeing. The repetition of this phrase throughout the song emphasizes the idea that the singer is stuck in a hopeless situation.
Overall, “The Job That Ate My Brain” is a powerful commentary on the drudgery of working life and the toll it can take on a person’s mental health. It is a reminder that jobs can be more than just a means to an end and that employers have a responsibility to ensure that their employees’ wellbeing is a priority.
Line by Line Meaning
Out of bed at 6:15 In a rush and you can't think
I wake up too early, I'm already stressed, and my mind isn't working properly.
Gotta catch the bus and train I'm in a rush and feelin' insane
I have to hurry to make my way to work and the pressure is making me lose my mind.
I can't take this crazy pace I've become a mental case Yeah, this is the job that ate my brain
My job has taken control of me, and it is beginning to feel like it is consuming me whole.
Go to work, it's such a drag Face the boss, he's such a nag In a suit and in a tie I look so late I wanna die
Going to work feels like punishment, the boss constantly nags, and being in business attire doesn't help with the stress and anxiety of feeling late.
I punch the clock at 9:05 I know I'm late, but still alive Everyone just stares at me (I'm last in line for this party)
I arrive at work slightly after 9 and feel the tension of the co-workers' judgment towards my lateness. Being the last arrival only adds to the shame.
Five o'clock rolls around I feel so glad I kiss the ground Ain't enough hours in the day There's got to be a better way
By the end of the workday, I'm relieved to be done and need a break. Yet, that time was not enough, and I know there must be a better way of life.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GARRETT UHLENBROCK, MARKY RAMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Racheal Plymale
on I Wanna Be Sedated (Live)
My Alltime favorite band!!!!!!!!! Joey Ramone was yummmy!!!!!