History

The pre-history of the band is centered in and around the middle-class neighborhood of Forest Hills in the New York City borough of Queens. The band members were drawn together by a mutual love of the New York Dolls, The Stooges, MC5 and 1960s garage rock.

Most of the members had been in various bands since the late 1960s - Johnny and Tommy had both been in a high school garage band circa 1966-67 known as the Tangerine Puppets, and Joey was in the short-lived early 1970s glam rock band Sniper. The initial version of the Ramones included Jeffry Hyman on drums, John Cummings on guitar, and Douglas Colvin on bass and lead vocals. Colvin was the first to use the name Ramone, calling himself Dee Dee Ramone. He was inspired by the fact that Paul McCartney used the pseudonym Paul Ramone (although some accounts say Paul Ramon) when he checked into hotels. Producer Phil Ramone was said to be another influence in choosing the name. The other members followed suit and adopted new stage names; Hyman became Joey Ramone, reportedly after bubblegum pop music vocalist Joey Levine, Cummings became Johnny Ramone, and the group became known as the Ramones.