James Gregory reports:
Only five months after it was publicly announced he had been suffering from prostate cancer for the past five years, legendary guitarist and punk pioneer Johnny Ramone died yesterday afternoon at his home in Los Angeles. Ramone, born John Cummings, passed in his sleep, according to his publicist, and was in the company of friends and family, including his wife Linda Cummings, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and wife Jill, and Rob Zombie and wife Sherrie.
As co-founder of punk's first breakout band, the Ramones, Johnny's buzzsaw guitar style laid the foundation for the genre's signature sound. His lightning attack on songs like "Judy Is a Punk" and "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" wrote the book on punk guitar, and can be seen as the sonic blueprint for the slew of bands who followed, most notably The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. Johnny's death follows in the wake of two other tragic Ramones losses-- iconic singer Joey died in 2001 after battling lymphatic cancer, and bassist Dee Dee died of a drug overdose in 2002. Of the original members, only drummer Tommy is still with us, as are latter day drummer Marky, and bassist C.J.
The band officially disbanded in 1996 after 26 years of musical service, and were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Generations of groups still cite Johnny and his fellow Ramones as a major influence, including U2, who recorded a cover of "Beat on the Brat" for last year's tribute album We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to the Ramones. Fans in need of one last dose of the punk idol can see Johnny interviewed in End of the Century, the recently released documentary covering the group's tumultuous career, which now stands as Johnny's final word on the seminal band.
-Pitchfork News
Damn.
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