Johnny Ramone

As a teenager, Cummings played in a band called the Tangerine Puppets alongside future Ramones drummer Tamás Erdélyi (better known as Tommy Ramone). When he was older, he was known as a "greaser," though was later described as a tie-dye-wearing Stooges fan. He met future bandmate Douglas Colvin, later to become Dee Dee Ramone, in the early 1970s when he was delivering dry cleaning. They would eat lunch together and discuss their mutual love of bands like the Stooges and MC5. They went to Manny's Guitar Emporium in New York City in January 1974. Johnny bought a used blue Mosrite Ventures II for $54 and change, including tax. On the same trip Colvin bought a Danelectro bass, which he later smashed. They collaborated with future bandmate Jeffrey Hyman and formed the Ramones, with the almost-unknown Ritchie Stern on bass, who left after a few rehearsals. Erdelyi joined the band in the summer of that year, after failed public auditions for the position of Ramones drummer. Although Johnny Ramone wasn't as prolific of a songwriter as his bandmates,especially Dee Dee Ramone, his guitar style was a key part of the Ramones sound and was a major punk rock influence. Cummings was at the center of the major source of stress for the band when he started dating Hyman's ex-girlfriend. Allegedly, the song prompted Hyman to write the song "The KKK Took My Baby Away", although it has been speculated that the song was actually written before the founding of the Ramones in 1974. Though the band remained together for years after this incident, relations between the two remained frosty and verbal communication was almost non-existent. Years later, when Hyman was in the hospital dying of cancer, Cummings refused to telephone him. He later discussed this incident in the film End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, saying an attempt at such a reunion would have been futile. He did add that he was depressed for a week after Hyman's death. In their road manager, Monte Melnick's, book on the band Johnny is quoted as having said "I'm not doing anything without him. I felt that was it. He was my partner. Me and him. I miss that." Alongside his music career, he appeared in nearly a dozen movies (including Rock 'n' Roll High School) and documentaries. He also made television appearances on such shows as The Simpsons (1F01 "Rosebud", 1993) and Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Episode 5 "Bobcat"). Infamous in the punk community as being one of a few conservatives, Cummings made his political affiliation known to the world in 2002, when the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After thanking everyone who made it possible — clad in his trademark T-shirt, ripped blue jeans and leather jacket — he said "God bless President Bush, and God bless America," [2]. He said in an interview, when questioned on his conservatism, "I think Ronald Reagan was the best President of my lifetime." This was evident at least in the mid-Eighties: when the band released the UK single "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg/Go Home Ann" in 1986, Cummings pressed for a name change, finding it insulting to Ronald Reagan, and the song was retitled on American releases to "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)" after a line from the song's chorus. On September 15, 2004, Cummings died in his Los Angeles home after a five-year battle with prostate cancer; Eddie Vedder and Rob Zombie were at his side when he died. After his death, his remains were cremated. A cenotaph was built in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, near to his former bandmate Dee Dee's grave. In 2006, the remake of the horror film The Wicker Man was dedicated to Johnny Ramone's memory, as he was a close friend of the film's producer and star, Nicolas Cage. The lyrics for Pearl Jam's 2006 single "Life Wasted" were written by Eddie Vedder while driving home from Cummings' funeral. Cummings was known for his fast, high-energy playing style that consisted of rapid down strokes and both barre chords and power chords, often in a simple I-IV-V progression. Called "buzzsaw", this technique was highly influential on first- and second-wave punk, this technique was used in New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and Judas Priest, its also used in alternative rock bands, as well as thrash metal. Guitar Virtuoso Paul Gilbert has cited Johnny Ramone as one of his influences. Cummings was strictly a rhythmist, as evidenced by live recordings. Johnny played very few leads on the studio albums (e.g. "Time Has Come Today", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", and "California Sun" amongst others). The lead guitar parts on studio albums were overdubbed by Erdelyi, Ed Stasium, Daniel Rey, Walter Lure and other uncredited guests.