The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite only achieving limited commercial success during their time together, the band is today seen as highly influential. All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname “Ramone”, although none of them were biologically related; they were inspired by Paul McCartney, who would check into hotels under alias “Paul Ramon”. The Ramones performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years. In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, they played a farewell concert in Los Angeles and disbanded. By 2014, all four of the band’s original members had died – lead singer Joey Ramone , bassist Dee Dee Ramone , guitarist Johnny Ramone and drummer Tommy Ramone . The remaining surviving members of the Ramones—bassist C. J. Ramone and drummers Marky Ramone, Richie Ramone and Elvis Ramone—are still musically active. Recognition of the band’s importance built over the years. The Ramones ranked number 26 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” and number 17 in VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock”. In 2002, the Ramones were ranked the second-greatest band of all time by Spin, trailing only the Beatles. On March 18, 2002, the original four members and Tommy’s replacement on drums, Marky Ramone, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. In 2011, the group was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
