Don't Worry About Me...The Joey Ramone Story & Show # 249

Joey Ramone is best known for his role in the New York group Ramones. Being the lead singer of the group, Joey was also a song writer within the group. Born as Jeffery Hymann in Forest Hills, in Queens New York, Joey grew up on music such as The Beatles, The Who, The Stooges, bubble gum pop, surf music and Phil Spector produced groups. All of these influences would have a direct influence on his vocal style, but Joey started out playing drums. When his parents divorced, Joey became more focused on music and played drums with glam rock influenced rock and roll groups.

In 1974, Joey co-founded the Ramones with Douglas Colvin (Dee Dee Ramone) and John Cummings (Johnny Ramone). They adopted the stage surname Ramone (based on an early stage name used by Beatle Paul McCartney) and began playing as a group. Originally Joey was the bands drummer and Dee Dee was the vocalist. It wasn't until band manager Tommy Erdelyi suggested that Joey take the vocals (Dee Dee would shred his vocal chords after two or three songs) that they switched. Since the band had no drummer at the time, Tommy adopted the last name Ramone and became the groups drummer. Ramones were seen as the first punk rock group in America and influenced numerous US and UK music groups. While they have had cult status for a long time, the group never became a mainstream attraction. They did have some minor hits, but the band built up their following through their live shows. The band lasted for 22 years before calling it quits in 1996, after an appearance at Lollapalooza.


In 1994, Joey Ramone formed a group with his brother Mickey Leigh called Sibling Rivalry. They recorded an EP titled In A Family Way. Joey has collaborated with numerous artists. He produced a Ronnie Spector album titled She Talks To Rainbows in 1999. Joey put together a band featuring Daniel Rey (guitar), Andy Shernoff (bass) and Frank Frunaro (drums). Mickey would also help out on the recordings. Joey played a few live gigs before the album was actually completed. On April 15th, 2001 Joey Ramone passed away due to Lymphoma.

Don't Worry About Me featured 11 tracks. The album had two cover songs "What A Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong), and "1969" (The Stooges). It also featured original compositions such as "Don't Worry About Me", "Stop Thinking About It", and "Mr. Punchy". The album was released in 2002. The album featured guest musicians such as Marky Ramone, Captain Sensible, Helen Love and Jerry Only. A five track, holiday EP was released in 2002 titled Christmas Spirit...In My House. Beginning on what was to be Joey's 50th birthday (May 19th), a birthday concert is held in his honour, titled The Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in New York City. The music that has been created by both Joey Ramone and the Ramones has been vastly influential on the world of music.

This Weeks Play List:

1. Joey Ramone - What A Wonderful World
2. Joey Ramone - Stop Thinking About It
3. The Hipshakes - Never Enough
4. The Animals - The Girl Can't Help It
5. Ride Theory - On Fire
6. Simply Saucer - I Can Change My Mind
7. Mark Inside - There Is Nothing To Admit
8. Dream Dates - Mess your In
9. Hot Nasties - (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone
10. The Caesars - (I'm Gonna) Kick You Out
11. The Regulators - That's Right, Nothings Left
12. The Government - Paranoid Downtown Funk Pt.2
13. The Fall - Repetition
14. Only Ones - Programme
15. The Police - It's Alright For You
16. Franz Ferdinand - What She Came For
17. Arctic Monkeys - Plastic Tramp
18. Bush - My Engine Is With You
19. The Pixies - Alec Eiffel
20. Fiction Plane - Listen To My Babe
21. Dirty Pretty Things - Plastik Hearts
22. Babyshambles - Do You Know Me
23. Young Rival - Your Island
24. Carbon/Silicon - The Whole Truth

To download this week's show visit the CJAM archives and select the files 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM on May, 19th 2009.

Joey Ramone Videos:

What A Wonderful World (Music Video)