Douglas Glenn Colvin (September 18, 1951 – June 5, 2002), better known by his stage name Dee Dee Ramone, was an American musician. He was the bassist and a founding member of the
punk rock band
Ramones. Throughout the band's existence, he was the most prolific lyricist and composer, writing many of their best-known songs, such as "
53rd & 3rd
''Ramones'' is the debut studio album by American punk rock band The Ramones, released on April 23, 1976, by Sire Records. After ''Hit Parader'' editor Lisa Robinson saw the band at a gig in New York City, she wrote about them in an article a ...
", "
Chinese Rock
Chinese rock (; also , lit. "Chinese rock and roll music") is a wide variety of rock and roll music made by rock bands and solo artists from Mainland China (other regions such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau are considered separate scenes). Typica ...
", "Commando", "Wart Hog", "
Rockaway Beach", "
Poison Heart
"Poison Heart" is a song by the punk rock band Ramones. Written by Dee Dee Ramone, who had retired as their longtime bassist in 1989 but still wrote songs for the band, "Poison Heart" was included on the 1992 album ''Mondo Bizarro'' and was als ...
" and "
Bonzo Goes To Bitburg" (also known as "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down"). The latter won the
New York Music Award for best independent single of the year in 1986, while ''
Animal Boy
''Animal Boy'' is the ninth studio album by American punk band Ramones, released through Sire Records on May 19, 1986. Due to conflicts within the group, the album features less of lead singer Joey Ramone, both in performing and writing, and le ...
'', which the song is from, won for best album.
Dee Dee was the band's lead vocalist until original drummer
Joey Ramone
Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...
took over lead vocalist duties. He was then the band's bassist and songwriter from 1974 until 1989, when he left to pursue
a short-lived career in
hip hop music under the name Dee Dee King. He soon returned to his punk roots and released three solo albums featuring brand-new songs, many of which were later recorded by the Ramones. He toured the world playing his new songs, Ramones songs and some old favorites in small clubs, and continued to write songs for the Ramones until 1996, when the band retired.
Dee Dee was addicted to drugs, particularly
heroin, for much of his life. He began using drugs as a teenager and continued to use for the majority of his adult life. He died from a heroin
overdose
A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. on June 5, 2002, at the age of 50.
Early life and family
Douglas Glenn Colvin was born on September 18, 1951, in
Fort Lee, Virginia
Fort Lee, in Prince George County, Virginia, United States, is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the U.S. Army Quartermaster Sc ...
. He was the son of an American soldier and a German woman. As an infant, his family relocated to
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, due to his father's military service. His father's military career also required the family to relocate frequently. As a result of these frequent moves , Douglas had a lonely childhood with few real friends. His parents separated during his early teens, and he remained in Berlin until the age of 15, when he, along with his mother and sister Beverley, moved to
Forest Hills, New York, in order to escape Dee Dee's alcoholic father. There, he met
John Cummings and
Thomas Erdelyi (later dubbed Johnny and Tommy Ramone), then playing in a band called the Tangerine Puppets, named after a
Donovan song.
Bassist
Monty Colvin from the
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
band
Galactic Cowboys
Galactic Cowboys are an American heavy metal band based in Houston, Texas. They combine progressive metal with a vocal style influenced by The Beatles and the heavy playing style of thrash bands such as Anthrax. They have been described as " ...
is one of Dee Dee's cousins.
Career
Ramones
Colvin, later Dee Dee, and Cummings, later Johnny, quickly became friends, as they were both social outcasts in their middle-class neighborhood. After an unsuccessful guitar audition for
Television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, Johnny convinced Dee Dee to form their own band with then-drummer Jeffrey Hyman, later
Joey Ramone
Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...
, in 1974. Joey took over vocal duties after Dee Dee decided that he could not sing lead vocals for longer than a few songs as his voice shredded. Dee Dee would continue, however, to count off each song's tempo with his signature rapid-fire shout of "1-2-3-4!"
It was Dee Dee who first suggested naming the band the Ramones, after reading that
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
often signed into hotels under the
alias
Alias may refer to:
* Pseudonym
* Pen name
* Nickname
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film
* ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006
* ''Alias the ...
"Paul Ramon". He added an 'e' to the end of that surname and the band members all agreed to adopt the surname "Ramone" as a means of conveying their unity.
In the early 1970s, Dee Dee worked at The Bureau of Advertising, located at 485 Lexington Ave., Manhattan, NYC. Later renamed The Newspaper Advertising Bureau, the agency promoted newspapers as the best media source for advertising. Dee Dee was a printer's helper for about one year in the company's small in-house print shop. Because of his creative abilities he would hang out, when he could, with the graphic designers in the company's art department. In 1973, Colvin became friends with
Arturo Vega, a Mexican artist who had relocated to New York City and would become a close associate of the Ramones for the duration of their existence. Officially dubbed their ''artistic director'', Vega designed their famous logo, oversaw
stage lighting and had other duties as needed.
[
]
The Ramones played before an audience for the first time on March 30, 1974, at Performance Studios.
The band's debut album, ''
Ramones'', was greeted positively by rock critics. The album was not a commercial success, reaching only number 111 on the ''
Billboard'' album chart. Their next two albums, ''
Leave Home'' and ''
Rocket to Russia
''Rocket to Russia'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. Its origins date back to the summer of 1977, when "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" was released as ...
'', were released in 1977. ''Rocket to Russia'' was the band's highest-charting album to date, reaching number 49 on the
''Billboard'' 200. In 1978, the band released their fourth studio album, ''
Road to Ruin''. It failed to reach the
''Billboard'' Top 100. However, "
I Wanna Be Sedated
"I Wanna Be Sedated" is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, originally released on the band's fourth studio album, '' Road to Ruin'' (1978), in September 1978. The B-side of the UK single "She's the One" was released on September 21, 19 ...
", which appeared both on the album and as a single, would become one of the band's best-known songs. The artwork on the album's cover was done by ''Punk'' magazine cofounder
John Holmstrom
John Holmstrom (born 1954) is an American underground cartoonist and writer. He is best known for illustrating the covers of the Ramones albums '' Rocket to Russia'' and '' Road to Ruin'', as well as his characters Bosko and Joe (published in S ...
.
Dee Dee wrote or co-wrote much of the Ramones' repertoire, such as "
53rd and 3rd" (a song about male prostitution at 53rd Street and 3rd Avenue in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, allegedly based on personal experience), "Glad to See You Go" (written about his then-girlfriend, a
stripper and fellow drug user with a volatile personality), "It's a Long Way Back", "
Chinese Rocks
"Chinese Rocks" or "Chinese Rock" is a song written in 1975 by New York punk rock musician Dee Dee Ramone with contributions from Richard Hell. Inspired by Lou Reed's " Heroin", the song openly details the day-to-day ravages of opiate addicti ...
" (originally recorded by
Johnny Thunders and
the Heartbreakers
The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock.
History
Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry ...
, as guitarist Johnny Ramone was not enthusiastic about the Ramones doing songs about drugs) and "Wart Hog" (a song Dee Dee wrote in rehab). After he quit the Ramones in 1989, Dee Dee continued to write songs for them, contributing at least three songs to each of their albums.
According to ''
Mondo Bizarro
''Mondo Bizarro'' (a misspelled version of "Mondo Bizzarro," meaning "Weird World" in Italian) is the twelfth studio album by American punk rock band Ramones, released on September 1, 1992 by Radioactive Records. It is the first studio album to ...
's'' liner notes, the Ramones once bailed Dee Dee out of jail in exchange for the rights to his songs "Main Man", "Strength to Endure" and "Poison Heart", which would become a minor hit for the band. The band's final studio album, 1995's ''
¡Adios Amigos!
''¡Adios Amigos!'' (in Spanish, "Goodbye Friends") is the fourteenth and final studio album by American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on July 18, 1995, through Radioactive Records. The Ramones disbanded a year after its release and s ...
'', features several of Dee Dee's solo songs, such as "I'm Makin' Monsters for My Friends" and "It's Not for Me to Know" from his album ''
I Hate Freaks Like You
''I Hate Freaks Like You'' is the second studio album by Dee Dee Ramone, released under the name Dee Dee Ramone I.C.L.C. It was released in Europe in 1994 through World Service, a sublabel of Rough Trade Records.
German singer Nina Hagen guest ...
'', and "The Crusher" from ''
Standing in the Spotlight''.
Dee Dee was a special guest at the final Ramones show at the Palace in Los Angeles on August 6, 1996. He performed lead vocals on "
Love Kills".
Recognition of the band's importance grew over the years.
The Ramones ranked number 26 in ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' 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
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
.
Dee Dee was present when the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, the first year they were eligible, and not long after lead singer Joey had died. Dee Dee humorously congratulated himself at the induction.
Later music projects
In 1987, before leaving the Ramones, Dee Dee embarked on a brief
hip hop career as rapper "Dee Dee King" with the album ''
Standing in the Spotlight''. Dee Dee had recorded "
Funky Man" as Dee Dee King in 1987. Music critic Matt Carlson wrote that the album "will go down in the annals of
pop culture as one of the worst recordings of all time". After the album failed, he returned to punk rock with various short-lived projects such as Sprokkett (which also featured Richard 'The Atomic Elf' Bacchus of
D Generation
D Generation (also known as DGen) are an American glam punk band formed in 1991 in New York City. They released three albums and several EPs, to much critical acclaim, before breaking up in 1999. In 2011 the band reunited for a series of show ...
and the Spikey Tops). In 1987 Dee Dee wrote and produced a song called "Baby Doll" for
the Chesterfield Kings ("Baby Doll"/"I Cannot Find Her", acoustic version 1987, Mirror Records, later recorded by American rock and roll band
the Connection, on their album ''New England's Newest Hit Makers'').
Months after he left the Ramones, in the fall of 1989, Dee Dee already performed songs such as "Poison Heart" and "Main Man" (later to be recorded by the Ramones) with his band the Spikey Tops.
In 1991, Dee Dee was briefly involved with transgressive punk rock singer-songwriter
GG Allin
Kevin Michael "GG" Allin (born Jesus Christ Allin; August 29, 1956 – June 28, 1993) was an American punk rock musician who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. Allin was best known for his controversial live performances ...
, playing the guitar with Allin's backup band
the Murder Junkies
The Murder Junkies are an American punk rock band, best known for having been GG Allin's final backing band before his death. They perform songs from Allin's back catalog as well as their own original material. They are the third GG Allin back ...
. His involvement lasted approximately one week, enough for him to be briefly interviewed during the filming of
Todd Phillips
Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...
' Allin documentary ''
Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies''. In the film, Dee Dee reveals that he was unaware of the band's name, even after joining. Rehearsal recordings of him with Allin and the Murder Junkies appears on the ''Hated'' soundtrack, as well as on the posthumous live Allin compilation ''Res-Erected''. Video footage of the rehearsals is available on DVD through Allin's estate's website. Dee Dee never actually played a live gig with the band.
In 1992, Dee Dee formed another short-lived project named
Dee Dee Ramone and the Chinese Dragons, which was followed by the most successful of his post-Ramones projects, a group named
Dee Dee Ramone I.C.L.C. (Inter-Celestial Light Commune), which lasted from 1994 to 1996. The group featured New York City bassist
John Carco
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
(formerly of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
group Misguided) who befriended Dee Dee when the two attended
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings together during the summer of 1992. After writing more than a dozen songs and recording several demos for an upcoming Ramones album with producer
Daniel Rey
Daniel Rey (born Daniel Rabinowitz) is an American musician, record producer and songwriter from New York City, best known for his work with the punk rock band Ramones.
As a teenager Rey played in punk band Shrapnel, which also featured Dave Wyn ...
, Dee Dee decided to keep the material for his new band. After working with several drummers and playing several live shows in the New York City area, Dee Dee and Carco moved to
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
to record a four-song
EP and fourteen-track album for
Rough Trade Records. ''
I Hate Freaks Like You
''I Hate Freaks Like You'' is the second studio album by Dee Dee Ramone, released under the name Dee Dee Ramone I.C.L.C. It was released in Europe in 1994 through World Service, a sublabel of Rough Trade Records.
German singer Nina Hagen guest ...
'' was released on April 17, 1994. It features
Nina Hagen
Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...
on two of the album's fourteen tracks. The three-piece line up now consisted of Dee Dee (vocals, guitar), Carco (bass, vocals), and Dutch drummer Danny Arnold Lommen.
I.C.L.C. would go on to promote the ''I Hate Freaks Like You'' album by touring 22 countries over a 10-month period.
In January 1995, the group had completed their 10-month tour and returned to their headquarters in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
to begin recording a second album. The group was soon dropped, however, by their record label, Rough Trade World Service. With this development, bassist
John Carco
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
left the group and moved to Los Angeles where he formed and played with Frankie O. and
Pete Stahl
Peter Marc Stahl is an American musician best known for fronting the Virginia-based punk/ hardcore band Scream with his brother Franz. Early on, Scream also featured Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums who credited ...
(singer of D.C.H.C. group
Scream
Scream may refer to:
*Screaming, a loud vocalization
Amusement rides
* Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany
* Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England
* Scream! (roller coaster), at ...
) in the group Metro. Carco would later pursue an acting career. Songs written by Dee Dee and Carco for the never-released second I.C.L.C. album would appear on the Ramones' final album ''
¡Adios Amigos!
''¡Adios Amigos!'' (in Spanish, "Goodbye Friends") is the fourteenth and final studio album by American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on July 18, 1995, through Radioactive Records. The Ramones disbanded a year after its release and s ...
''. One of these songs, "Born to Die in Berlin", appeared as the final song on the final Ramones' album, and featured Dee Dee singing in German on the bridge of the song. "Fix Yourself Up" was recorded by Dee Dee on the album ''
Zonked''.
Dee Dee formed a Ramones' tribute band called
the Ramainz
The Ramainz were an American tribute band to the Ramones. Its members included Dee Dee Ramone, Marky Ramone, Dee Dee's wife Barbara Zampini, and C. J. Ramone. They were known as The Remains until 1999 but had to change the spelling due to anothe ...
with his wife Barbara ("Barbara Ramone", bass) and former Ramones' member Marky (drums). They recorded an album, ''Live in NYC'', released in Argentina and many other countries, and played a couple of times with
C.J. Ramone.
Dee Dee also recorded several solo albums. ''
Zonked!'', the first album release under the Dee Dee Ramone moniker, was retitled ''Ain't It Fun?'' for the European release. Other than the addition of the bonus track "Please Kill Me", the releases are the same The line-up for this album was Dee Dee Ramone on guitars and lead vocals, Marky Ramone on drums, longtime partner Daniel Ray producing and on guitars, and Barbara "Ramone"/Zampini on bass and lead vocals. Guests included Joey Ramone singing lead on "I am seeing UFOs", and
the Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. ...
' vocalist
Lux Interior doing so on "Bad Horoscope".
The second solo album was called ''
Hop Around''; the line-up consisted of Dee Dee Ramone, Barbara Ramone/Zampini,
Chris Spedding
Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...
on guitars and Billy Rogers on drums. Dee Dee also released ''
Greatest & Latest'', with Barbara, Spedding and Chase Manhattan on drums. This album consisted of re-recordings of Ramones songs, a re-recorded solo song ("Fix Yourself Up", originally from ''Zonked!''/''Ain't It Fun?''), cover-songs and an unreleased new solo-song ("Sidewalk Surfin'").
In the 21st century, Dee Dee teamed up with
Paul Kostabi
Paul Indrek Kostabi (also known as Ena; born October 1, 1962 in Whittier, California, United States) is an American artist, musician, record producer and audio engineer. He is the brother of artist Mark Kostabi.
Kostabi was a founding member o ...
, leader of the
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...
band
Youth Gone Mad and former guitarist for
White Zombie. An established artist, Kostabi was instrumental in getting Dee Dee's new career as a painter off the ground. Together with Barbara, the trio collaborated on several hundred works that sold quickly for a few hundred dollars each. In 2012, the tenth anniversary of Dee Dee's death was observed by a show at a prominent art gallery in California.
On
Halloween, 1998, while staying at the
Hotel Chelsea
The Hotel Chelsea (also the Chelsea Hotel or the Chelsea) is a hotel in Manhattan, New York City, built between 1883 and 1885. The 250-unit hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the neighborhood of ...
, Dee Dee and Zampini met the Hollywood band SEXYCHRIST, which featured adult film star
Kurt Lockwood
Kurt Lockwood (born June 4, 1970) is an American pornographic actor and director, model, and musician.
Career
In 2002, ''Hustler'' magazine director Chris Wood offered him the starring role in his own line for Larry Flynt Digital in a now-defun ...
. Lockwood encouraged them to move to Hollywood, and together the two bands shared a successful tour of the U.S. in early 1999. Afterwards, Dee Dee formed the Dee Dee Ramone Band, with members including
Christian Martucci
Christian Martucci (born June 5, 1977) is an Italian American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a dual citizen of Italy and the United States. As of 2013, he is the lead guitar player for the American hard rock band Stone Sour and from J ...
(vocals and guitar), Anthony Smedile (drums), Chase Manhattan (drums), and
Stefan Adika (bass). With the exception of one show at the Spa Club in NYC and a Club Makeup performance, this would be his last touring band. Dee Dee would release a book, entitled ''Legend of a Rock Star, A Memoir: The Last Testament of Dee Dee Ramone'', written while on tour in Europe in 2001.
Dee Dee later moved to California, where he continued to make music and pursued an acting career. He was unsuccessful as an actor, but landed a major role in the 2002 low-budget film ''Bikini Bandits''. He contributed the song "In a Movie" to the film's soundtrack, featuring his wife Barbara on lead vocals.
His next album, a live album produced by
Gilby Clarke (formerly of
Guns N' Roses) would have been recorded on June 12, 2002, at Hollywood's Key Club, but plans fell through.
Bootleg
Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to:
* Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially
* Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence:
** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...
s of the Dee Dee Ramone Band exist, amongst them ''Live in Milan, Italy''. Dee Dee's final studio recordings were released by
tREND iS dEAD! records as the 2002 album ''
Youth Gone Mad featuring Dee Dee Ramone''. He also worked with the band Terrorgruppe.
Equipment
Dee Dee Ramone used
Ampeg
Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guitar Group. Although ...
amplification during his entire career with the Ramones.
Writing
Dee Dee Ramone's autobiography ''My Right to Survive'' was published as ''Poison Heart: Surviving the Ramones'' in 1998. A second revision edition appeared in 2001. It was republished as ''Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones'' in 2016. Dee Dee co-authored the book with Veronica Kofman. Another nonfiction work, ''Legend of a Rock Star'', written by Dee Dee alone, presents daily journal of commentary on his last, hectic European tour in the spring of 2001.
His novel ''
Chelsea Horror Hotel'' relates a story in which he and his wife move into New York City's famous/notorious
Hotel Chelsea
The Hotel Chelsea (also the Chelsea Hotel or the Chelsea) is a hotel in Manhattan, New York City, built between 1883 and 1885. The 250-unit hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the neighborhood of ...
and believe they are staying in the same room where
Sid Vicious
John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...
allegedly killed his girlfriend,
Nancy Spungen
Nancy Laura Spungen (; February 27, 1958 – October 12, 1978) was the American girlfriend of English musician Sid Vicious, and a figure of the 1970s punk rock scene.
Raised Jewish in Philadelphia, Spungen was an emotionally disturbed child who ...
. Ramone is visited by Vicious, as well as other dead punk rock friends such as
Johnny Thunders,
Stiv Bators, and
Jerry Nolan
Gerard "Jerry" Nolan (May 7, 1946 – January 14, 1992) was an American rock drummer, best known for his work with the New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers.
Career
A native of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Nolan joined the New York Dolls in the aut ...
.
Personal life
In 1978, Dee Dee married Vera Boldis. According to Boldis, Dee Dee's struggles with mental illness and drug abuse put a strain on the couple's relationship. They separated in 1990 before finalizing their divorce in 1995.
In November 1994, Dee Dee met 16-year-old Barbara Zampini while searching for his lost guitar outside his hotel in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Zampini was a fan and influenced by Dee's early work. She had been playing bass for two years. They would later marry. She went on tour with him, and they remained together until his death. Following his death, Barbara managed his estate, calling herself Barbara Ramone Zampini.
According to drummer
Marky Ramone
Marc Steven Bell (born July 15, 1952) is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tom ...
, he was politically
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
.
Death
![Dee Dee Ramone - Hollywood Forever Cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Dee_Dee_Ramone_-_Hollywood_Forever_Cemetery.jpg)
Dee Dee Ramone was found dead at his home in the
Hollywood district of Los Angeles on the evening of June 5, 2002. An
autopsy established a heroin overdose as the official cause of death. He had been booked to perform at the Majestic Ventura Theater, which ended up being a memorial show in his honor.
Dee Dee Ramone is buried at the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...
in Hollywood, not far from the bronze memorial to his former Ramones bandmate,
Johnny Ramone. His headstone features the Ramones
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
with the line "I feel so safe flying on a ray on the highest trails above" taken from his song "Highest Trails Above", from the Ramones' ''
Subterranean Jungle
''Subterranean Jungle'' is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones, released by Sire Records on February 23, 1983. Overall, the album featured a return to a somewhat more hard punk rock style compared to the band's ...
'' album. At the stone's base is the line "O.K...I gotta go now." Every day a large group of “Ramones Ducks” march up the hill to Dee Dee’s grave in his honor.
Discography
Ramones
* ''
Ramones'' (1976)
* ''
Leave Home'' (1977)
* ''
Rocket to Russia
''Rocket to Russia'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. Its origins date back to the summer of 1977, when "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" was released as ...
'' (1977)
* ''
Road to Ruin'' (1978)
* ''
It's Alive'' (1979)
* ''
End of the Century
''End of the Century'' is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on February 4, 1980, through Sire Records. The album was the band's first to be produced by Phil Spector, though he had offered the band his assis ...
'' (1980)
* ''
Pleasant Dreams
''Pleasant Dreams'' is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band the Ramones, released on July 20, 1981, through Sire Records. While the band members wanted Steve Lillywhite to produce, Sire chose Graham Gouldman in an attempt to gain ...
'' (1981)
* ''
Subterranean Jungle
''Subterranean Jungle'' is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones, released by Sire Records on February 23, 1983. Overall, the album featured a return to a somewhat more hard punk rock style compared to the band's ...
'' (1983)
* ''
Too Tough to Die
''Too Tough to Die'' is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones. It was released on October 1, 1984, and is the first Ramones record to feature Richie Ramone on drums. With ex-member Tommy Ramone producing (credited ...
'' (1984)
* ''
Animal Boy
''Animal Boy'' is the ninth studio album by American punk band Ramones, released through Sire Records on May 19, 1986. Due to conflicts within the group, the album features less of lead singer Joey Ramone, both in performing and writing, and le ...
'' (1986)
* ''
Halfway to Sanity'' (1987)
* ''
Brain Drain'' (1989)
* ''
¡Adios Amigos!
''¡Adios Amigos!'' (in Spanish, "Goodbye Friends") is the fourteenth and final studio album by American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on July 18, 1995, through Radioactive Records. The Ramones disbanded a year after its release and s ...
'' (1995) (guest appearance on "Born to Die in Berlin" only)
* ''
You Don't Come Close'' (2001)
* ''
NYC 1978'' (2003)
Solo
*''
Standing in the Spotlight'' (1989)
*''
I Hate Freaks Like You
''I Hate Freaks Like You'' is the second studio album by Dee Dee Ramone, released under the name Dee Dee Ramone I.C.L.C. It was released in Europe in 1994 through World Service, a sublabel of Rough Trade Records.
German singer Nina Hagen guest ...
'' (1994)
*''
Zonked!'' (1997)
*''
Hop Around'' (2000)
*''
Greatest & Latest'' (2000)
Videography
*1987: ''Funky Man''
*1994: ''I'm Making Monsters for My Friends''
*2002: ''In a Movie'' (OST "Bikini Bandits")
*2012: ''The Crusher'' (short promo)
References
External links
Official website*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramone, Dee Dee
1951 births
2002 deaths
American punk rock bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
American rappers
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Deaths by heroin overdose in California
Drug-related deaths in California
American people of German descent
People from Forest Hills, Queens
People with bipolar disorder
Dee Dee
Deedee, DeeDee or Dee Dee may refer to:
Given name
* DeeDee Halleck (born 1940), American media activist
* DeeDee Jonrowe (born 1953), American kennel owner and dog musher, three-time runner up in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
* Deedee Magn ...
People from Rockaway, Queens
Sire Records artists
The Murder Junkies members
People from Prince George County, Virginia
American rock musicians
American male guitarists
20th-century American bass guitarists
20th-century American male musicians