CBGB & OMFUG

The Ramones made up of John Cummings, Thomas Erdelyi, Douglas Colvin and Jeffrey Hyman all hail from Forest Hill Queens.   Douglas Colvin was inspired by Paul McCartney’s use of the pseudonym, Paul Ramon, during his Silver Beatles days.  Douglas Colvin changed his name to Dee Dee Ramone, and each member followed his lead and the band created The Ramones.

The band spent most of their time rehearsing at Manhattan’s Performance Studios, where they also played for the first time in front of an audience.  On August 16, 1974, The Ramones played their first of seventy-four performances that year at CBGB.  In 1975, they were signed to Sire Records.  The Ramones unique performance style would be one of the main reasons why they are considered the leaders of the punk scene.

Rocket to Russia would be the band’s first highest rated album on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching number 49, while Rockaway Beach would be the band’s highest rated single reaching number 66 on the Billboard Single Chart.  The band was featured in Allan Arush’s Rock ‘n Roll High School, music produced  by Phil Spector who would later produce The Ramones album End of the Century.

The band announced they would break up in 1995.  Dee Dee, Johnny, Joey, Tommy, Marky, and CJ would appear one final time all together at an autograph signing at the Virgin Megastore in New York City on July 20, 1999.

In 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2007, they were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

The only surviving original member is Tommy Ramone.

The CBGB Ramones 6-pak Playlist Notes: Six must have Ramones songs chosen by us and available through iTunes.

Song Name		Artist
Judy Is a Punk		The Ramones
Teenage Lobotomy		The Ramones
I Wanna Be Sedated		The Ramones
Rock ‘N’ Roll High School (Ed Stasium Mix)		The Ramones
Blitzkreig Bop		The Ramones
Sheena Is a Punk Rocker (ABC Single Version)		The Ramones

CBGB recommended Ramones links:

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