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Sad news to me and the rock world Tommy Ramone passed away from Cancer on July 11th 2014 Tommy was the last living member of the original lineup of The Ramones he played Drums and sang backing vocals on the first three classic Ramones albums and even after he left the Ramones as a drummer he still helped out the Ramones in a producer role and i think may have even layed down a guitar track here and there. Tommy Ramone was included in The Ramones 2002 Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame induction. R.I.P Tommy hope you Joey , Dee Dee , Johnny are all rocking together in Rock'n'Roll Heaven !!!

When he was still Thomas Erdelyi (pre- Ramones of course) he was credited as an assistant recording engineer on Band of Gypsy's live Fillmore East album. http://blog.kexp.org/2014/07/12/r-i-p-tommy-ramone/

Oh Really?!? I Did not know that! Thanks for sharing that information !!

And you thought you knew everything about the Ramones!

It is bizarre that that entire (original) band is no longer with us. They all died too young.

I kind of feel bad for Marky... he doesn't get much credit and was in the band for 14 years, as opposed to the 4 years that Tommy was in the band.

Anyway, they were my first show when I was 14 and Dee Dee was still in the band at that point.

They were in Upstate NY filming the video for Pet Semetary and decided to play a free show at the local community college.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHvF_ANqAic

I'll never forget it.

r.i.p.
I got to see them in 78. The air conditioning in the venue broke down and it was reported that it hit 135 in the room. Hotter than Bikram yoga!!! Twas a great show they didn't skip a beat despite the dreadful conditions.

Well I have a funny Ramones story.

I actually auditioned for them back when they were replacing Dee Dee. (Eventually replaced him with CJ). They ran an open call ad in the Village Voice and I couldn't resist. At the time I had curly long bleached blond hair ala Roger Daltrey and I showed up with my '72 J and wearing a pair if flowery board trunks. Joey wasn't there, but the Johnny, Marky, and their manager was, and they each had a good 3-6" on me in height. To say I didn't look the part is an understatement. Very nice friendly guys, but their manager had made up his mind the minute I walked in and wanted me out ASAP. Johnny stuck up for me and said, "Come on, let's hear the guy". So he asks me what I want to play. "How about "Teenage Lobotomy"? I blurt out. "Sure", but you know we don't play it exactly like the record, we play it a bit faster", Johnny says.

How much faster could it be? "1-2-3-4!" And they're off with Teenage Lobotomy at about 280bpms! I'm trying to keep up, but I was pretty much lost. Figures I picked one of the few Ramones songs that has many chord changes in it. I think they let me stick around for one more song (I think we did "I Wanna Be Sedated" but I can't remember), and I did do better on that one, but I knew the audition was a complete train wreck. I didn't care, I got to play with the Ramones!

I ran into Johnny a couple of times after that at various comic/horror conventions, and he remembered me and we had a chuckle about it. Very surprised to later learn what an unlikeable jerk he could be, as I've never forgotten how cool he was to me before and after that audition.

Man PJ that's a cool story!

Marky was and still is a great drummer! i really feel bad for Ritchie he gets absolutely no credit and he was with them for like 6 years and played drums and sang and wrote on one of my top favorite Ramones albums Too Tough To Die.

@ PJ ....I'm sooo jealous of you for that such a great amazing and cool as hell story !!!

It would have been a better story if I got the gig.

I was the guitar repairman at Sam Ash Forest Hills, Queens, N.Y. I moved to that store from their original location (second one) on Kings Highway in Brooklyn, circa 1980. I worked there until 1982. Tommy was the last drum guy that I worked with there, circa 82. Yes, he sold drums, sticks, heads, and hardware at Ash. He was a very nice guy. I reminded him of a gig at Toads Place in New Haven, Conn., that we played on. I think it was in mid-1978. I was in Avis Davis and Joy Ryder's band, and we opened for The Ramones...and he was still in the band then. He remembered, and I got to compliment him on his playing- he had a really good time-feel.
Sad, a lot of the greats are passing now.

It's too bad, PJ Ramone has a good ring to it.

No shit, small world. . I remember the Brooklyn Sam Ash on Kings Hwy too (corner of Kings Highway and Coney Island Ave.?) before it moved to Flatbush Ave. across the street from the Kings Plaza Shopping Mall. But that was much later. (Can't remember when they relocated there). Did you happen to know Jimmy Agnello? He was the store manager for years in Brooklyn.

PJ- Jimmy Agnello and I worked together in the Brooklyn store! Kings and Coney Island Ave., right down the street from the first CRAZY EDDIES! I am still friends with him! He's a great guy.We both used to play on the rock and roll circuit in Manhattan, circa 1976-80. We go back a long ways. I was in Huntington Beach, California in about 2000- for the funeral of my girlfriend's older brother in Los Alamitos.. Her younger brother told me a Sam Ash had opened there recently. We went. I walk in, and hear someone yelling my name "DAVE EDWARDS! DAVE EDWARDS!" It was JIMMY!
Hadn't seen him in years. He said Ash had made him Southern California regional manager! Later, they moved him up to Hollywood- and then, after he spent maybe 35 years of his life working for them, they fired him. So I heard. He's on Facebook. Jimmy is one of the good guys. Really. I'm glad I'm his friend.

Amazing to read these stories! And wow, I can't believe I'm reading a reference to CRAZY EDDIE'S! in 2014!!!! Brings back lots of memories from my youth... those commercials!!!