The influential, and iconic frontman for the RAMONES. Commonly referred to as the godfather of
punk, a title he shares with Iggy Pop. His visual trademarks were, circular shades, a leather jacket, a t-shirt, sneakers, jeans, dark hair, and his height. His vocal trademark was a voice which was part snarling, part rasping, part crooning, part moaning, part growling, and part screaming. He was born in 1951 as Jeffery Hyman, to Mrs. C. Lesher, and Mr. N. Hyman. He was SUPPOSEDLY born sterile, a question which has been disputed. He attended Forest hills high with his
friends, Thomas "
Tommy" Erdyli, Jonathan (or was it just John) "
Johnny" Cummings, and Douglas "Dee Dee" Colvin, with whom he would start the RAMONES. After Three decades of success, along with a couple changes in ranks, Joey and
Johnny decided to retire. Joey recorded one last album, a solo effort as a "This is the last you'll ever hear from me" album. It was released posthumously, a year after his
death from lymphoma in 2001. He never married or had children, possibly because of his disputed ability to sire children, or simply because he never wanted any. He had a street in his hometown, NYC. He, along with the other RAMONES, have been a major influence on the Punk
rock (Sex pistols, The Clash, Green Day) , Modern
rock (Killers), Alternative
rock (U2), and Heavy
metal (Iron maiden, Metallica) genres. He is survived by his brother, Mickey Leigh.
1: On my last visit to hell, I had the privilege of interviewing Joey Ramone. First, I asked what he would have done if he hadn't died. He said:"I would host a nighttime radio show in New York, just like I do in the afterlife."
2: I then asked Joey Ramone about his influences, and he said "
The Beatles, The Ronnetes, The Mc5, Sex pistols, Clash, Motörhead, Iron F***in maiden,
Metallica, Green
day, etc."
3. Joey Ramone. Ah, even in the afterlife, He still has a sense of humor.
4.I also asked Joey (Ramone) if he was sterile. "EXCUSE ME?!Even if I was, do you think I'd TELL YOU?! And maybe my 'infertility' has nothing to do with me not having any known kids? It's none of your *#%^*^ business anyways. Can't we talk about other +%#% please? Like, do you miss me?" "Yeah, it's much quieter on
earth now. You miss
earth?" "Not as much as I used to."
5. Joey Ramone never did answer that
one question. And it seems he never will. So for his sake, don't talk about that $&@; because it makes him feel uncomfortable.
