COMMANDO : THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHNNY RAMONE
C 2012 Johnny Ramone LLC
Edited by John Cafiero with Steve Miller and Henry Rollins
Abrams is the publisher
What makes an autobiography rather than a memoir?
I think this book is more a music memoir because it focuses on the development of The Ramones, a punk band that performed some original material and some cover tunes. As a matter of fact they covered some of the tunes that Johnny Rivers also covered, so I would've loved to ask Johnny Ramone about that!
As it goes with the Ramones, not one member was ever born with the surname Ramone and not one member was an actual brother or relative. The Ramones are therefore a construct, but when it comes to the music business there were a number of "brother" duos and groups, such as the Righteous Brothers before them who were also not really brothers. - Christine
When I was on tour with Buddy Knox people used to ask us if we were brothers! - Wes
CHAPTER ONE, pages 15 and 16
"It was the nameless guy who changed the jukebox records at my parent's bar who really turned me on to rock and roll when I was seven years old. Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino. He gave me the singles he was talking out as he put in the newest hits. I loved it; I had a great collection of 45's. I still love that era of music. The songs sound so clear and exciting, like Little Richard's "Keep a Knocking."
page 17
"Soon after the jukebox guy started giving me those singles, I saw Elvis Presley on the black and-white television in our Westbury living room, on The Ed Sullivan Show. The first time was September 9, 1956, in a broadcast from Hollywood, then seven weeks later from thirty miles away in New York City, at the CBS studio at Broadway and Fifty-third street. Today that's the Ed Sullivan Theater where David Letterman does his show.
I just knew I would be a big Elvis fan from that moment on. It was the wildness, and it really upset my parents, who thought he was a dope fiend. I didn't know what that was, but I figured it must be a good thing, because if it upset the grownups, it had to be good. I just followed him from them on and became a rock and roll fan forever, and by the next year I was listening to Ricky Nelson, the Everly Brothers, and it was a big Jerry Lee lewis fan. And Little Richard, I mean, he was gay and black, and that made everybody crazy."
- Johnny Ramone
In the back of the book Johnny Ramone lists Elvis Presley as his favorite singer, followed by Bing Crosby, Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, The Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, Frankie Laine, Dion, and Jim Morrison. Johnny would have loved this blog! - Christine
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