Hey! Ho! Let's Go: Queens Museum Celebrates The Ramones & Birth Of Punk
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A new exhibit is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Ramones' debut album.
"Hey! Ho! Let's Go: Ramones and the Birth of Punk" is opening at the Queens Museum is Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
The exhibit features more than 400 pieces of punk rock memorabilia, including t-shirts, leather jackets, concert posters, and old guitars. It will run from April 10 through July 31.
PHOTOS: Ramones Exhibit At Queens Museum
Drummer Tommy Ramone co-founded the Ramones in 1974 in New York along with singer Joey Ramone, bassist DeeDee Ramone and guitarist Johnny Ramone. All four band members had different last names, but took the common name Ramone.
The band influenced a generation of rockers, and their hit songs "I Wanna Be Sedated," and "Blitzkrieg Bop," among others, earned them an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Clad in leather jackets and long black mops of hair, the group of motley misfits started out in legendary New York clubs like CBGB and Max's Kansas City, where they blasted their rapid-fire songs.
Since its debut album in 1976, the band struggled for commercial success, but they left a formidable imprint on the rock genre. Though they never had a Top 40 song, the Ramones influenced scores of followers, including bands such as Green Day and Nirvana.
Even Bruce Springsteen was moved. After seeing the Ramones in Asbury Park, N.J., Springsteen wrote "Hungry Heart" for the band. His manager, however, swayed him to keep the song for himself and it became a hit single.
The Ramones' best-known songs reflected their twisted teen years in Queens: "Beat on the Brat," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," "Teenage Lobotomy," "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker."
The Ramones disbanded in 1996 after a tour that followed their final studio album, "Adios Amigos." A live farewell tour album, "We're Outta Here!", was released in 1997.
Johnny Ramone, whose birth name was John Cummings, died in 2004 of prostate cancer. Joey Ramone, whose real name is Jeff Hyman, died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer. Dee Dee Ramone, whose real name is Douglas Colvin, died from a drug overdose in 2002. Tommy Ramone was born Erdelyi Tamas in Budapest, Hungary. He died in 2014 at the age of 65.
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