April 23, 1976. Fifty years ago, four rockers from Queens changed music forever. To commemorate the half-century anniversary of their self-titled debut album, The Ramones are launching a year of celebrations and festivities, including remastered releases, a Nevada museum exhibition, tribute performances, and more.
Four friends from Forest Hills, Queens linked up in 1974 to become almost literal brothers, taking on the same stage name with Joey Ramone on vocals, Johnny Ramone on guitar, Dee Dee Ramone on bass, and Tommy Ramone on drums. “Punk rock started in 1976 on New York’s Bowery, when four cretins from Queens came up with a mutant strain of blitzkrieg bubblegum,” Rolling Stone wrote. They recorded their first album in January 1976, taking only seven days and $6,400 to do it.
The album almost fell apart, but after Hit Parader editor Lisa Robinson saw the band play in New York City, she wrote about them and suggested Danny Fields as manager. Fields convinced a producer to work with them and got Sire president Seymour Stein in the room, who signed them.
“Ramones” is uptempo, short, and relentless, paving the way for decades of punk rock, though at the time it was a critical and commercial flop. It aged like fine wine, and today every punker, and plenty of regular people too, know “Blitzkrieg Bop,” the shout-along anthem that helped define the band’s sound, and “Judy Is a Punk,” a fast, strange, and catchy snapshot of teenage rebellion. The album’s hits are short, uptempo, and full of blunt youthful angst.
The Ramones were a New York band through and through. They came out of the Bowery when the city was struggling, playing at CBGB. The Ramones spearheaded punk in the East Village.
Read more: Marky Ramone Discusses New Band, The Ramones, CBGB’s
The anniversary celebrations are being put together by the Ramones and Rhino. Eleven newly remastered and upscaled music videos, including “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” and “Rock N Roll High School,” are out now on the Ramones’ official YouTube. A 50-song playlist for their 50th year was shared on Spotify, and tribute performances and physical reissues are expected to be announced through the end of the year.
The Punk Foundation, working with Linda Ramone and Ramones Productions, is putting on an Ramones exhibition at The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas on July 4. Beyond memorabilia and history, the exhibit will include performances, artist conversations, and community workshops.
In a joint Instagram post between CJ Ramone and the Ramones, CJ reflected on the debut and what it meant, then and now.
“I was 12. I met a pretty blonde girl, went back to her house, put a record on, dropped the needle. Blitzkrieg Bop came on,” CJ said. “First time I smoked weed and kissed a girl and heard the Ramones record, all in one afternoon, in one place.”
Fifty years later, this is more than just nostalgia. The Ramones paved the way for music that continues to inspire people and create firsts for so many.
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