Editing Joey Ramone (section)

=== Ramones ===
[[File:Joey Ramone.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Ramone in the 1980s]]
In 1974, Jeffrey Hyman co-founded the [[punk rock]] band the [[Ramones]] with friends [[Johnny Ramone|John Cummings]] and [[Dee Dee Ramone|Douglas Colvin]]. Colvin was already using the pseudonym "Dee Dee Ramone" and the others also adopted stage names using "Ramone" as their surname: Cummings became Johnny Ramone and Hyman became Joey Ramone. The name "Ramone" stems from [[Paul McCartney]]: he briefly used the stage name "Paul Ramon" during 1960–61, when [[the Beatles]], still an unknown five-piece band called the Silver Beetles, did a tour of Scotland and all took up pseudonyms; and again on the 1969 [[Steve Miller (musician)|Steve Miller]] album ''[[Brave New World (Steve Miller Band album)|Brave New World]]'', where he played the drums on one song using that name.

Ramone initially served as the group's drummer while Dee Dee Ramone was the original vocalist. However, when Dee Dee's vocal cords proved unable to sustain the demands of constant live performances, Ramone's manager [[Tommy Ramone|Thomas Erdelyi]] suggested Joey switch to vocals. Mickey Leigh: <blockquote>I was shocked when the band came out. Joey was the lead singer and I couldn't believe how good he was. Because he'd been sitting in my house with my acoustic guitar, writing these songs like 'I Don't Care', fucking up my guitar, and suddenly he's this guy on stage who you can't take your eyes off of.<ref name="autogenerated1997" /></blockquote> After a series of unsuccessful auditions in search of a new drummer, Erdelyi took over on drums, assuming the name Tommy Ramone.<ref name="allmusic" />

The Ramones were a major influence on the punk rock movement in the United States, though they achieved only minor commercial success. Their only record with enough U.S. sales to be certified gold in Ramone's lifetime was the compilation album ''[[Ramones Mania]]''. Recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now represented in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' lists of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time and 25 Greatest Live Albums of All Time, [[VH1]]'s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and Mojo's 100 Greatest Albums. In 2002, the Ramones were voted the second greatest rock and roll band ever in ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', behind [[the Beatles]].

In 1996, after a tour with the [[Lollapalooza]] music festival, the band played its final show and then disbanded.