Johnny Ramone
From Punkopedia - The Punk, Hardcore, and Indie Encyclopedia
 Johnny Ramone | |
| Homebase | Long Island, New York |
| Born | October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004 |
| Website | |
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John William Cummings (October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004), better known by the stage name Johnny Ramone, was the guitarist for the seminal punk rock group The Ramones. Along with vocalist Joey Ramone, he remained a member of the band throughout their career. In 2003 Johnny was named the #16th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine.
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[edit] Biography
As a teenager, Johnny played in a band called the Tangerine Puppets alongside future Ramones drummer Tamás Erdélyi (better known as Tommy Ramone). When he was older, he was known as a "greaser," though was later described as a tie-dye-wearing Stooges fan.
He and Erdelyi joined The Ramones in 1974, bonding with bandmates Joey and Dee Dee Ramone over a shared love of bands like The Stooges and the MC5. Johnny originated the band's signature look: leather jackets, sleeveless t-shirts, ripped jeans, black socks, tennis shoes, and bowl haircuts.
Johnny was at the center of the major source of stress for the band when he started dating Joey's ex-girlfriend. Allegedly, the song prompted Joey to write The Ramones' classic "The KKK Took My Baby Away" though some suggest that the song was written years earlier. Though the band remained together for years after this incident, relations between the two remained frosty and verbal communication was almost non-existent. Years later, when Joey was in the hospital dying of cancer, Johnny refused to telephone him. Johnny later discussed this incident in the film End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, saying an attempt at such a reunion would have been futile. He did add that he was depressed for a week after Joey's death.
Alongside his music career, he appeared in nearly a dozen movies (including Rock 'n' Roll High School) and documentaries. He also made television appearances on such shows as The Simpsons (1F01 "Rosebud", 1993).
Johnny is infamous in the punk community as being one of a few hardened conservatives. Johnny Ramone made his political affiliation known to the world in 2002, when The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After thanking everyone who made it possible — clad in his trademark T-shirt, ripped blue jeans and leather jacket — Johnny said "God bless President Bush, and God bless America,". He said in an interview, when questioned on his conservatism, "I think Ronald Reagan was the best President of my lifetime."
In August 1983, Ramone got in a fight with Seth Macklin of the band Sub Zero Construction, in front of his apartment in East New Village. Macklin kicked Johnny in the head and caused extensive injuries which required brain surgery. Ramone had to wear a baseball cap onstage until his shaved head grew back. The event made the newspapers across the country. He recovered, and the next album was titled Too Tough to Die, partly in his honor. The other reason for the title name was that it was a message about their recent lack of success, but also saying that they weren't going to quit, and they were going to persist through their slump and find success again.
On September 15, 2004, he died in his Los Angeles home after a five year battle with prostate cancer, Eddie Vedder and Rob Zombie were at his side when he died. After his death, his remains were cremated. A cenotaph was built in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, near to his former bandmate Dee Dee's grave.
In 2006, the horror film The Wicker Man was dedicated to Johnny Ramone's memory, as he was close friends with the film's producer and star, Nicolas Cage. Pearl Jam's 2006 single "Life Wasted" was written by Eddie Vedder while driving home from Johnny's funeral.
[edit] Guitar Technique
Johnny Ramone was known for his fast, high-energy playing style that consisted of rapid downstrokes played mostly over highly distorted barre chords, often in a simple I-IV-V progression. Often called "Buzzsaw", this technique was highly influential on first- and second-wave Punk and alternative rock bands, as well as myriad genres of Heavy Metal, especially Thrash metal. Johnny Ramone was strictly a strummer, as evidenced by live recordings. The few lead guitar parts on studio albums were oberdubbed by Tommy Ramone, Ed Stasium, Daniel Ray and other uncredited guests.
