Tommy Ramone died last Friday, and now there are no more founding members of the Ramones. Most of their contemporaries—the Clash, Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, Television, Blondie—still have living members. Key players from forebears like the Stooges, the New York Dolls, the MC5, and the Velvets are still here, but not Lou Reed. A few Beatles, Beach Boys, and all of the Stones are alive.
Although the Ramones had a great sense of humor, they were no joke. The Ramones were not art rock, or overblown like Yes and Genesis, they were originals. The Ramones never had a hit. But now, their music is played in stadiums, and even babies wear their t-shirts.
Credit Hilly Kristal, founder of CBGB’s for giving them a place to play. The Ramones reminded us that two minutes was long enough for a song, and that first and foremost, rock should be fun. From Bob Lefsetz:
They emerged fully-formed, their debut opened with the legendary ’Blitzkrieg Bop’ and segued into ‘Beat on the Brat,’ that’s what you do with a baseball bat…
And then came their masterpiece, “Rocket To Russia“. “Rockaway Beach” could have been a Beach Boys tune. That album also had “Sheena is a Punk Rocker”. Rockaway Beach was an early haunt for the young Wrongologist. And on “Road To Ruin” was the band’s apotheosis, “I Wanna Be Sedated.”
Here is “I Wanna Be Sedated”:
And a bonus, “Rock ‘n Roll High School” from the album, “End of the Century“, arranged by Phil Spector:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQFEo5pj-V8
I did not particularly like the Ramones. to be frank, i was doing other things at the time. but the era of punk reminded us that that album rock that started with the Beatles was pompous.