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Johnny Ramone
Born	October 8, 1948 in Queens, New York
Died	September 15, 2004 in Los Angeles, California
Genre(s)	Punk rock
Affiliation(s)	Ramones
Notable guitars	Mosrite Ventures II Model
Years active	1974 - 2004
Official site	Official website

John Cummings (October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004), better known as Johnny Ramone, was the guitarist for the punk rock group The Ramones. Along with vocalist Joey Ramone (real name Jeffrey Hyman), he remained a member of the band throughout their career.

Contents 1 Career 2 Discography with The Ramones 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 External links 4 References

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. According to remarks made by Tommy Ramone in the November 2005 issue of Mojo, Cummings lived a criminal lifestyle in his late teens.

He and Erdelyi joined the Ramones in 1974, bonding with bandmates Hyman and Douglas Colvin (aka Dee Dee Ramone) over a shared love of bands such as the Stooges and the MC5. Cummings originated the band's signature look: leather jackets, ripped jeans, tennis shoes, and bowl haircuts.

Cummings was known for his fast, high-energy playing style that consisted of quick, double downstrokes; aka the "Buzzsaw" style. His guitar style was highly influential with a plethora of later punk and post-punk bands.

Hyman allegedly wrote "The KKK Took My Baby Away" after his ex-girlfriend started dating Cummings (later evidence has shown that the song was written years earlier). 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. Cummings discusses 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 also added, however, that he was depressed for a week after Hyman's death, leading one to wonder as to how Cummings really felt about Hyman after all the times they had endured together.

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).

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 — Johnny said "God bless President Bush, and God bless America," [1]. He said in an interview, when questioned on his conservatism, "I think Ronald Reagan was the best President of my lifetime."

In August 1983, Cummings got in a fight [2]with Seth Macklin of the band Sub Zero Construction, in front of his apartment in East New Village. Macklin kicked Cummings in the head, who suffered extensive injuries which required brain surgery. Johnny had to wear a baseball cap onstage until his shaved head grew back. The event made the newspapers across the country. He recovered, and the next album was titled Too Tough to Die, in his honor.

On September 15, 2004, he died in his Los Angeles home after a five year battle with prostate cancer. 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 horror film The Wicker Man was dedicated to Cummings' memory, as he was close friends with the film's producer and star, Nicolas Cage. Pearl Jam's 2006 single "Life Wasted" was reportedly written about his death.^[1]

• Ramones (1976)
• Leave Home (1977)
• Rocket to Russia (1977)
• Road to Ruin (1978)
• End of the Century (1979)
• Pleasant Dreams (1981)
• Subterranean Jungle (1983)
• Too Tough to Die (1984)
• Animal Boy (1986)
• Halfway to Sanity (1987)
• Brain Drain (1989)
• Mondo Bizarro (1992)
• Acid Eaters (1993)
• ¡Adios Amigos! (1995)

• Blitzkrieg Bop (1976)
• I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (1976)
• I Remember You (1977)
• Swallow My Pride (1977)
• Sheena is a Punk Rocker (1977)
• Rockaway Beach (1977)
• Do You Wanna Dance? (1978)
• Don't Come Close (1978)
• Needles and Pins (1978)
• She's the One (1979)
• Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
• Baby, I Love You (1979)
• Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (1979)
• We Want the Airwaves (1981)
• She's a Sensation (1981)
• Psycho Therapy (1983)
• Time Has Come Today (1983)
• Howling at the Moon (Sha-La-La) (1984)
• Chasing the Night (1985)
• My Brain is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg) (1985)
• Somebody Put Something in My Drink (1986)
• Something to Believe In (1986)
• Crummy Stuff (1986)
• A Real Cool Time (1987)
• I Wanna Live (1987)
• Pet Sematary (1989)
• I Believe in Miracles (1989)
• Poison Heart (1992)
• Strength to Endure (1992)
• Touring (1993)
• Journey to the Center of the Mind (1993)
• Substitute (1993)
• 7 and 7 Is (1994)
• I Don't Want to Grow Up (1995)
• The Crusher (1995)
• R.A.M.O.N.E.S. (1996)

• Official website
• Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye
• Johnny Ramone interview, Boston Phoenix, September 2004
• Johnny Ramone interview in Scram Magazine, 2000
• Johnny Ramone at the Internet Movie Database
• Check out Johnny Ramone's stage worn jeans at the Ramones Museum Berlin!
• Johnny Ramone audio interview, Amsterdam 1996

• "On The Road With The Ramones" written by Monte A. Melnick the Ramones Tour Manager. [3]

Ramones
Joey Ramone • Johnny Ramone • Dee Dee Ramone • Marky Ramone C. J. Ramone • Tommy Ramone • Richie Ramone • Elvis Ramone
Discography
Studio albums: Ramones (1976) • Leave Home (1977) • Rocket to Russia (1977) • Road to Ruin (1978) • End of the Century (1980) • Pleasant Dreams (1981) • Subterranean Jungle (1983) • Too Tough to Die (1984) • Animal Boy (1986) • Halfway to Sanity (1987) • Brain Drain (1989) • Mondo Bizarro (1992) • Acid Eaters (1993) • ¡Adios Amigos! (1995)
Live albums: It's Alive (1979) • Loco Live (1991) • Greatest Hits Live (1996) • We're Outta Here! (1997) • You Don't Come Close (2001) • NYC 1978 (2003)
Compilations: Ramones Mania (1988) • All The Stuff (And More!) Volume 1 (1990) • All The Stuff (And More!) Volume 2 (1990) • Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology (1999) • Ramones Mania Vol. 2 (2000) • Masters of Rock: Ramones (2001) • Best of the Chrysalis Years (2002) • Loud, Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits (2002) • The Chrysalis Years (2002) • The Best of The Ramones (2004) • Weird Tales of the Ramones (2005) • Greatest Hits (2006)
Tribute albums: Gabba Gabba Hey: A Tribute to the Ramones (1991) • Ramones (1992) • Rocket To Russia (1994) • Rocket to Ramonia (1996) • Road to Ruin (1998) • File Under Ramones (1999) • We're a Happy Family - A Tribute To Ramones (2003)
Films: Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) • Lifestyles of the Ramones (1990) • Ramones - Around the World (1993) • We're Outta Here (1997) • End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003) • Ramones: Raw (2004)
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