The Ramones were a band from Forest Hills, New York. Formed in March 1974. The original members consisted of Johnny Ramone on lead guitar, Joey Ramone on lead vocals, Dee Dee Ramone on bass and backing vocals and Tommy Ramone on drums. Ritchie Ramone was soon replaced by Dee Dee Ramone. Joey was originally the drummer who later became the lead vocalist and the drummer who replaced Joey was Tommy. The Ramones all took their last name from the fake name Paul Ramono that Paul McCartney used when checking into hotels, so fans didn't know he was at the hotel. Joey liked the idea of ​​using a fake name for a band and so there were five guys in the band who adopted the name The Ramones. They attracted their first attention on the New York rock scene in August 1974. They aroused audience approval at CBGB in the Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan in New York. The Ramones played many times at CBGB and also around NYSire Records, a part of Warner Bros., Burbank, California-based records signed the Ramones in late 1975. Their first television appearance was at Radio City Studios in New York in 1975 and their debut LP, Ramones, came out in early 1976. This music was really fresh and vibrant. The Ramones were invited to the punk music genre. Their concerts included a summer visit to London. During their tour there they saw Damned and The Clash on July 4th. The Sex Pistols were born before, but their music was based on the sound of the Ramones. Some of the best known punk bands that followed: The Sex Pistols, The Clash, etc. would be the first to say that without the Ramones the entire punk movement would never have existed, commented Spin magazine editor-in-chief Alan Light....... middle of paper ......ral—an almost childish innocent aggression.... I thought 'The Great Seal of the President of the United States' would be perfect for the Ramones, with the eagle holding the arrows, to symbolize the strength and aggression that would be used against anyone who dares attack us —and an olive branch, offered to those who want to be friends. But we decided to change it up a bit. Instead of an olive branch we had an apple branch, since the Ramones were as American as apple pie. And since Johnny was a baseball fanatic, we made the eagle hold a baseball bat instead of the [Great Seal] arrows. -Arturo Vega The Ramones Artist for albums.Works Cited A Cultural Dictionary of Punk, 1974-1982 Nicholas Rhombes Pages 220-240 this section was on The Ramones. RamonesWorld.com JoeyRamone.com Parenthetical quote from the album Ramones Mania Liner Notes.