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One of the men responsible for the invention of punk rock music died recently.
He didn't overdose on heroin or expire in a puddle of his own vomit after a drinking binge like so many other rock legends. He had prostate cancer and died quietly in his sleep with his wife, family and friends by his side. He was only 55.
His name was John Cummings, but the world knew him as Johnny Ramone, co-founder and guitarist of the legendary band The Ramones. The punk explosion of the '70s began with them playing fast, loud, short, three-chord rock 'n roll at CBGB's in New York City. Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy all wore the same black leather jackets and ripped blue jeans. People thought they looked like hoodlums -- street punks, and that's how their music got its name.
Along with the other guys in the group, Johnny's playing style influenced generations of rock musicians to come, although they never had a hit song or gold record. Without the Ramones there would have been no "alternative." There would have been no Nirvana. There would be no U2. Kurt and Bono said it themselves. Ask any rock band who their influences are and the Ramones are sure to be at the top of the list.
Despite the leftist and even anarchist reputation that punk rock has maintained during the past 30 years, Johnny remained conservative. Maybe you could call him a misfit among misfits. He voted Republican. He supported the NRA. He listened to Rush Limbaugh and was a fan of Sean Hannity. When the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, Johnny stood at the podium in his black leather jacket and ripped jeans and announced "God bless President Bush, and God Bless America."
No doubt, Johnny was an asset that the Republican Party didn't even know they had. I can't imagine Rush or Hannity giving him a eulogy on their talk shows.
It wouldn't have mattered to Johnny, though. He never wavered on his political opinions no matter what fans or even his own band mates thought. When the band wanted to record the song "Bonzo goes to Bitburg," an anti-Ronald Reagan tune about the former president laying flowers at the graves of Nazi soldiers, Johnny was against it. He wanted no part in making Reagan look bad, but rest of the band out-voted him and they recorded the song anyway.
The Ramones broke up at Johnny's insistence in 1996 after 22 years of continuous touring and recording. With Johnny's death, we have lost three original members of the band. Lead singer Joey Ramone, who was born Jeffrey Hyman, died of cancer in 2001. Bassist and songwriter Dee Dee Ramone, whose real name was Douglas Colvin, died of a drug overdose in 2002.
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