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Joey Ramone

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Joey Ramone

Joey Ramone (born Jeffry Ross Hyman) (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001) was a vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.[1]

Biography

Early life

Joey grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, New York.[2] He and his future bandmates attended Forest Hills High School. Joey Ramone was Jewish[3]. During his youth, he was by general accounts something of an outcast and had a dysfunctional family life, which inspired the song "We're A Happy Family." His parents divorced in the early 1960s. His mother, Charlotte Lesher (1926–2007), who survived him, encouraged an interest in music in both him and his brother Mitchell, (Mickey Leigh). His father, Noel Hyman was born April 24, 1919 and passed away on October 20, 2000. Joey was a fan of The Beatles,[4] The Who, David Bowie and The Stooges among other bands (particularly oldies and the Phil Spector-produced "girl groups"). His idol was Pete Townshend of The Who. He took up drums at 13, and played throughout his teen years.

Ramones

In 1974, Jeffry Hyman co-founded the Ramones with friends John Cummings and Douglas Colvin, upon which point all three adopted stage names using "Ramone" as their stage surname. Cummings became Johnny Ramone, and Colvin became Dee Dee Ramone, with Hyman adopting the name Joey Ramone, despite the fact that none of them were related. The name Ramone stems from the fact that Paul McCartney used to check into hotels under the pseudonym "Paul Ramon" while touring. Joey initially served as the group's drummer. Dee Dee Ramone was the original vocalist. However, Dee Dee proved to be unsuited for the lead vocal position as he shredded his vocal cords after the first few songs recorded, so manager Tommy Erdelyi (who adopted the name Tommy Ramone) suggested Joey switch to vocals and he would step in and take over on drums.[1]

The Ramones had major influence on the punk rock movement in the United States, though they achieved only minor commercial success. Their only record with enough U.S. sales to be certified gold was the compilation album Ramones Mania. Recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now regularly represented in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the Rolling Stone lists of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time and 25 Greatest Live Albums of All Time, VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and Mojo's 100 Greatest Albums. In 2002, the Ramones were voted the second greatest rock and roll band ever in Spin, trailing only The Beatles.

In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played their final show and then disbanded. A little more than eight years after the breakup, the band's three founding members - Joey, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone — were dead.

Vocal style

Ramone's vocal style was unorthodox in that he had no formal training in an era where vocal proficiency was arguably the norm for most rock bands. His signature cracks, hiccups, snarls, crooning and youthful voice made his one of punk rock's most recognizable voices. Allmusic.com claims that "Joey Ramone's signature bleat was the voice of punk rock in America."[5] As his vocals matured and deepened through his career, so did the Ramones' songwriting, leaving a notable difference from Joey's initial melodic and callow style—two notable tracks serving as examples are "Somebody Put Something in My Drink" and "Mama's Boy".

Other projects

Joey Ramone was honored with the creation of "Joey Ramone Place" outside the address of CBGB in New York City.

In 1985, Joey joined Little Steven Van Zandt's music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid which acted against the Sun City resort in South Africa. Joey and forty-nine other top recording artists, including Bruce Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan and Run DMC, collaborated on the song "Sun City" in which they pledged they would never perform at the resort.

In 1994, Joey appeared on the Helen Love album Love and Glitter, Hot Days and Music singing the track "Punk Boy". Helen Love returned the favor, singing on Joey's song "Mr. Punchy".

Hyman co-wrote and recorded the song "Meatball Sandwich" with Youth Gone Mad. For a short time before his death, he took the role of manager and producer for the punk rock group The Independents.[6]

His last recording as a vocalist was singing backup vocals on the CD One Nation Under by the Dine Navajo rock group Blackfire. He appeared on two tracks, "What Do You See" and "Lying to Myself". The CD, released in 2002, won "Best Pop/Rock Album of the Year" at the 2002 Native American Music Awards.[7]

Joey also produced the Ronnie Spector album, She Talks to Rainbows, in 1999. It was critically acclaimed, but did not perform too well with the public and went virtually unnoticed. The title track was previously on the Ramones' last studio album, ¡Adios Amigos!.

Death and influence

Headstone for Joey Ramone with fan tributes

Joey Ramone died of lymphoma at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on April 15, 2001, after a seven-year battle.[8] He was reportedly listening to the song "In a Little While" by U2 when he died.[9] This was during U2's Elevation Tour, and from that point on during shows Bono would introduce the song as a tune that was originally about a lovestruck hangover but that Joey turned it into a gospel song.[10]

His solo album Don't Worry About Me was released posthumously in 2002, and features the single "What a Wonderful World", a cover of the Louis Armstrong standard. MTV News claimed: "With his trademark rose-colored shades, black leather jacket, shoulder-length hair, ripped jeans and alternately snarling and crooning, hiccoughing vocals, Joey was the iconic godfather of punk."[11]

On November 30, 2003, a block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place.[12] It is the block where Hyman once lived with bandmate Dee Dee Ramone, and is near the former site of the music club CBGB, where the Ramones got their start. Hyman's birthday is celebrated annually by rock 'n' roll nightclubs, hosted in New York City by his brother and, until 2007, his mother, Charlotte. Joey Ramone was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.[13]

In 2001, when Joey Ramone died, the Ramones were named as inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, prior to the actual ceremony held early the following year (2002).

Several songs have been presented as a tribute to Joey Ramone, including "Hello Joe" by Blondie from the album The Curse Of Blondie, Don't Take Me For Granted by Social Distortion and Here's To You by Minus3.

In September 2010, the Associated Press reported that "Joey Ramone Place," a sign at the corner of Bowery and East Second Street was New York City's most stolen sign. As of September 27, the sign has been moved to 20 feet above ground level. Drummer Marky Ramone thought Joey would appreciate the fact that his sign would be the most stolen adding "Now you have to be an NBA player to see it."[14]

Discography

For Ramones albums, see Ramones discography.

Solo

EPs

Singles

  • "I Got You Babe" - (1982) (Duet with Holly Beth Vincent)
  • "What a Wonderful World" - (2002)

Memorial books

  • "Heaven Needed A Lead Singer: Fans Remember Joey Ramone" by Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone - (2002)
  • "Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone" by Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone - (2004)

References

  1. ^ a b Allmusic.com
  2. ^ Powers, Ann. "Joey Ramone, Punk's Influential Yelper, Dies at 49", The New York Times, April 16, 2001. Accessed June 2, 2009. "Born Jeffry Hyman in Forest Hills, Queens, Mr. Ramone grew up a sensitive outcast in a bohemian family."
  3. ^ http://www.adherents.com/people/pr/Joey_Ramone.html
  4. ^ BBC News | MUSIC | The musical misfits
  5. ^ Allmusic.com—Joey Ramone
  6. ^ Independents band bio
  7. ^ Blackfire.net
  8. ^ Notice of Joey Ramone's death
  9. ^ Kaufman, Gil. "Pioneer Joey Ramone Dead At 49" Vh1, April 15, 2001
  10. ^ U2 (2001). Elevation 2001: Live from Boston (DVD). Boston, Massachusetts: Island/Interscope.
  11. ^ MTV News obituary
  12. ^ Officialramones.com
  13. ^ "Sometimes the Grave Is a Fine and Public Place". New York Times. March 28, 2004. But there are a slew of other places around New Jersey with their own pantheons. Consider the eclectic group at rest in Hillside Cemetery in Lyndhurst: the Pulitzer Prize-winning poetWilliam Carlos Williams and both founders of the former industrial giant Becton-Dickinson, Maxwell Becton and Fairleigh Dickinson, for whom the New Jersey university is named. Three years ago, they were joined by the seminal punk rocker Joey Ramone, whose birth name was Jeffry Hyman. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39383380/ns/today-entertainment/?gt1=43001

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