Sad news, friends,
the last of the four horsemen, the mighty Tommy Ramone, their orginal drummer, passed away yesterday, I just read.
He remained with the Ramones from 1974 to 1978, playing on and co-producing their first three albums, Ramones, Leave Home, and Rocket to Russia, as well as the live album It's Alive.
He was replaced on drums in 1978 by Marky Ramone, but handled band management and co-production for their fourth album, Road to Ruin; he later returned as producer for the eighth album, 1984's Too Tough to Die.
Also (yes, call me pedantic, if you want) I have to mention NYC 1978, which was released by King Biscuit Entertainment on August 19, 2003 as part of the King Biscuit Flower Hour Archive Series.
Tommy served as the drummer on this recording and left the band soon afterwards, so in fact this was his last album as the Ramones' drummer.
Some bloody cancer thing took the man away, aged 65. The Ramones, after The Clash, were the band that mattered most to me in me life, so hearing that the last of them now finally went away from us as well really made me shiver.
Here's a song from each of the albums mentioned above. Enjoy.
(1) 'I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You' (from 'Ramones' ('76))
(2) 'You Should Never Have Opened That Door' (from 'Leave Home '77))
(3) 'I Wanna Be Well' (from 'Rocket To Russia' ('77))
(4) 'I Wanna Be Sedated' (from 'Road To Ruin' ('78))
(5) 'Havana Affair' (from 'It's Alive' ('79))
(6) 'Daytime Dilemma' (Demo Version) (from 'Too Tough To Die' ('84))
(7) 'Commando' (from 'NYC 1978' ('03))
Take care,
Dirk
2 comments:
This is a kick in the gut. I'm reading the news first from you. All Ramones, all day, today, Dirk. Thanks for kicking things off with your great picks.
'Ramones' and 'Rocket to Russia' were the first albums I EVER bought with my own money. $6.49 each at JR's Music in Pekin, Illinois. My friend's mother who drove us to the shop gave me some change to cover the tax because I was a little short. I'll never forget it.
Yeah, isn't that sad indeed? I mean, we knew that obviously nothing new was to expect from The Ramones, but nevertheless seeing the last of them go as well makes me feel really fucked up ...
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