A 5 and a half page essay about the 70s punk band the Ramones

The Ramones started a music revolution. They were the first true punk band. They could not play nor could they sing; that wasn't the point. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy were just four boys from Queens, New York looking for a good time. The Ramones were one of the first and most influential punk bands of the 1970's.

Joey Ramone, born Jeff Hyman, May 19, 1951, was the lead singer for the band. Like most of his generation, he remembered listening to rock'n'roll radio in the early 60's. "Rock'n'roll was a savior. It gave you the sense of being an individual. It was something you had-nobody else but you. I remember my father getting me a radio that you hooked on the windowsill and then listened to with an earphone. I used to listen to it under the covers and get caught!"1 Even though Joey credits the Beatles as his main influence, he had been into music much earlier.

English: Dee Dee Ramone with The Ramones, July 1, ...

Johnny Ramone.

The Ramones, Chateau Neuf, Oslo, Norway

When he was a kid, his father gave him an accordion, which he squeezed until there was nothing left of it. When he was thirteen his grandmother gave him a full drum set. When Joey began to sing, Alice Cooper was his main role model. But Joey was getting tired of Forest Hills, and Forest Hills High, for that matter. He also recalls being kicked out of his mother's apartment, for his own good. Which isn't to say he doesn't get along with her, he even appeared with her on TV on "Geraldo"!2 Joey gets along well with his dad now too, though back then they hardly saw eye to eye. Actually, it was his Uncle Sy who was supportive of his musical aspirations. In his late teens, Joey journeyed out to Manhattan to discover himself. It wasn't a happy...