Punk icon Johnny Ramone dies of cancer

NEW YORK – Johnny Ramone, guitarist of New York punk pioneers the Ramones, died on September 15 at his home in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with prostate cancer.

He was 55. Ramone is the third of the quartet’s original members to have died in the past four years.Vocalist Joey Ramone (born Jeffrey Hyman) succumbed to lymphatic cancer in 2001, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone (born Douglas Colvin) died from a drug overdose in 2002.The fourth original Ramone, drummer Tommy (born Tom Erdelyi), gave up his instrument in 1978 to become the group’s co-producer.Johnny Ramone was born John Cummings on October 8 1951, in Long Island, N.Y.A former construction worker, he was 22 when he first picked up a guitar.The Ramones formed in 1974 in Forest Hills, N.Y.In an earlier interview, Cummings said he believed that rock ‘n’ roll was about “songs and image”, not musical training.In fact, he spent hours in front of the mirror working on his stance.”That’s the most important thing,” he said.”I learned how to play after I got (the guitar) looking right on me.”Unlike many punks, Cummings did not overindulge in drugs and alcohol, and he was an outspoken Republican.When the Ramones first started gigging around New York, Cummings was astounded by the audience’s response to the band’s rapid beats, buzzing guitars and under-three-minute songs.He recalled, “I said to Dee Dee, ‘I can’t believe we’re fooling these people! These people actually think we’re good! Maybe we can fool everyone — maybe we can fool the whole country!”‘ The Ramones didn’t have to fool anyone.The band became one of the leading lights of the nascent punk-rock movement centred at New York club CBGB in 1975-76, along with such names as the Patti Smith Group, Television and the Heartbreakers.”Johnny had the guitar sound that launched a thousand bands,” Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock told Billboard.”Many bands tried to emulate it, but they never got it right.”The Ramones signed with Sire Records in 1976, and their self-titled debut became a blueprint for punk rock.At that time, however, the media and the music industry weren’t prepared for punk.As a result, while ‘The Ramones Leave Home’ (1976) and ‘Rocket to Russia’ (1977) solidified the band as a punk icon, the albums failed to capture a mass audience.”John kept things in control when they could have spun out of control very easily,” says drummer Marky Ramone, who joined the band in 1978.”His legacy will live on in every band that has, is and always will be trying to duplicate the Ramones sound.”The Ramones recorded 21 studio and live albums.After two decades of punk rock, they played their final concert in 1996 in Los Angeles.Their music has influenced countless rock bands, including Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.Cummings is survived by his wife, Linda, and his mother, Estelle Cummings.- Nampa-ReutersRamone is the third of the quartet’s original members to have died in the past four years.Vocalist Joey Ramone (born Jeffrey Hyman) succumbed to lymphatic cancer in 2001, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone (born Douglas Colvin) died from a drug overdose in 2002.The fourth original Ramone, drummer Tommy (born Tom Erdelyi), gave up his instrument in 1978 to become the group’s co-producer.Johnny Ramone was born John Cummings on October 8 1951, in Long Island, N.Y.A former construction worker, he was 22 when he first picked up a guitar.The Ramones formed in 1974 in Forest Hills, N.Y.In an earlier interview, Cummings said he believed that rock ‘n’ roll was about “songs and image”, not musical training.In fact, he spent hours in front of the mirror working on his stance.”That’s the most important thing,” he said.”I learned how to play after I got (the guitar) looking right on me.”Unlike many punks, Cummings did not overindulge in drugs and alcohol, and he was an outspoken Republican.When the Ramones first started gigging around New York, Cummings was astounded by the audience’s response to the band’s rapid beats, buzzing guitars and under-three-minute songs.He recalled, “I said to Dee Dee, ‘I can’t believe we’re fooling these people! These people actually think we’re good! Maybe we can fool everyone — maybe we can fool the whole country!”‘ The Ramones didn’t have to fool anyone.The band became one of the leading lights of the nascent punk-rock movement centred at New York club CBGB in 1975-76, along with such names as the Patti Smith Group, Television and the Heartbreakers.”Johnny had the guitar sound that launched a thousand bands,” Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock told Billboard.”Many bands tried to emulate it, but they never got it right.”The Ramones signed with Sire Records in 1976, and their self-titled debut became a blueprint for punk rock.At that time, however, the media and the music industry weren’t prepared for punk.As a result, while ‘The Ramones Leave Home’ (1976) and ‘Rocket to Russia’ (1977) solidified the band as a punk icon, the albums failed to capture a mass audience.”John kept things in control when they could have spun out of control very easily,” says drummer Marky Ramone, who joined the band in 1978.”His legacy will live on in every band that has, is and always will be trying to duplicate the Ramones sound.”The Ramones recorded 21 studio and live albums.After two decades of punk rock, they played their final concert in 1996 in Los Angeles.Their music has influenced countless rock bands, including Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.Cummings is survived by his wife, Linda, and his mother, Estelle Cummings.- Nampa-Reuters

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