JOEY RAMONE

Joey Ramone, nome artístico de Jeffrey Ross Hyman (19 de maio de 1951 — 15 de abril de 2001) foi um vocalista norte-americano e letrista, sendo seu trabalho mais conhecido a banda de punk rock Ramones. Junto com seu companheiro de banda Johnny Ramone (John Cummings), foram os únicos membros que permaneceram desde o início da banda até o fim 1996. Joey tinha 2,02m de altura, sendo o mais alto dos ramones.

Hyman cresceu em Forest Hills, no Queens, em uma comunidade de judeus. Durante sua juventude, teve uma vida bastante conturbada, o que inspirou o som “We’re A Happy Family”, do álbum Rocket to Russia. Seus pais se divorciaram no começo de 1960. Sua mãe, Charlotte Lesher (1926-2007), encorajou um interesse na música em ambos os filhos: Joey e seu irmão mais novo Mitchell (que atende pelo pseudônimo de Mickey Leigh).

Joey morreu de linfoma em 15 de abril de 2001, no Presbyterian Hospital da cidade de Nova Iorque. Ele aparentemente conviveu com linfoma durante cerca de 4 anos, já que ele foi examinado numa clínica especializada em câncer em meados dos anos 90.

Joey Ramone (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), born as Jeffry Ross Hyman, was a vocalist and songwriter best known for his work in the punk rock group the Ramones. Joey Ramone’s image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.

Early life

Joey grew up in Forest Hills, Queens. He and his future bandmates attended Forest Hills High School.

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), encouraged an interest in music in both him and his brother Mitchell (a.k.a. Mickey Leigh).

Rock & roll gave the teenaged Joey Ramone an escape from his parents’ divorce and he began playing in glam-influenced bands in the early ’70s. He co-founded the Ramones in 1974 with friends John Cummings and Douglas Colvin, upon which point all three adopted Ramone as their stage surname. Joey Ramone initially served as the group’s drummer before switching to vocals and having his former spot taken by manager Tommy Erdelyi (who adopted the name Tommy Ramone).

He was a fan of The Beatles, The Who, among other bands (particularly oldies and the Phil Spector-produced “girl groups“). His hero was Pete Townshend of The Who. He took up drums at 13, playing throughout his teen years, and was originally the drummer for the Ramones, while Dee Dee Ramone was the vocalist. However, Dee Dee proved to be unsuited for the position as he could not play his bass guitar and sing at the same time, so on manager Tommy Ramone’s suggestion, Joey switched to vocals.

Ramones

Joey was said to be the “heart and soul” of the Ramones, and his favorite songs from their repertoire were often the ballads and love songs. C.J. Ramone called him the “hippie of the group.”

The Ramones were an American rock band often regarded as the first punk rock group. Formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, in 1974, all of the band members adopted stage names ending with “Ramone”, though none of them were actually related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years. 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.

The Ramones were a major influence on the punk rock movement both in the United States and Great Britain, 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.

 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, he formed Sibling Rivalry with his brother Mickey Leigh. They had one release, the In a Family Way EP.

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.

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.

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!.