Ramones guitarist losing battle with cancer

[dave9199]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The guitarist with pioneering punk rock band the Ramones is fighting a losing a battle with cancer in a Los Angeles hospital, Rolling Stone magazine reported on its Web site on Tuesday.

Johnny Ramone, 55, whose real name is John Cummings, was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago, and it has now spread throughout his body, Rollingstone.com quoted the band's drummer, Marky Ramone, as saying.

"Johnny's been a champ in confronting this, but at this point I think the chances are slim," Marky Ramone said in the report. "John never smoked cigarettes, he wasn't a heavy drinker and he was always into his health. It just proves when cancer seeks a body to penetrate, it doesn't matter how healthy you are or how unhealthy you are. It just seeps in and there's nothing you can do."

The Ramones, famed for playing their high-energy, unpolished songs at breakneck speed, rose to fame in New York City in 1974, paving the way for such British punk rock icons as the Sex Pistols and the Clash.

The band made its mark with such tunes as "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," but it never achieved the same commercial success as acts that followed in its path. The Ramones officially retired in 1996.

The band's singer, Joey Ramone (ne Jeff Hyman), died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Colvin) died from a drug overdose the following year.

[ghost of miles]

Terrible news--Johnny Ramone was my guitar hero when I was 11:

[John B]

that is a shame. The Ramones have had a tough few years recently. They were one of the most important rock bands of all time, imo.

Time to pull out It's Alive tonight.

[ghost of miles]

that is a shame. The Ramones have had a tough few years recently. They were one of the most important rock bands of all time, imo.

Time to pull out It's Alive tonight.

Yes... I love that record! (2-LP set, actually.) Had it on vinyl when I was a kid--it's a 12/31/77 England show, correct? I need to grab the CD one of these days.

BTW, any Ramones fans who haven't picked up the LEAVE HOME re-issue should really grab it... they've restored "Carbona Not Glue" (I loaned my LP w/the song on it to an 8th-grade buddy and he lost it... ) and also added a great live show from L.A. in 1976. LEAVE HOME was the first Ramones record I ever bought, in the summer of '77, and it rocked my world... then ROCKET TO RUSSIA came out in the fall and rocked it further! Perhaps goofy to say, but they were to me what I imagine the Beach Boys were to many in the early 1960s.

[John B]

that is a shame.  The Ramones have had a tough few years recently.  They were one of the most important rock bands of all time, imo.

Time to pull out It's Alive tonight.

Yes... I love that record! (2-LP set, actually.) Had it on vinyl when I was a kid--it's a 12/31/77 England show, correct? I need to grab the CD one of these days.

Correct. It is a great performance that was, for some odd reason, unavailable in the U.S. for a number of years.

The reissues of the first two albums (demos on the first album the concert gom mentions on the second) are fantastic. Highly recommended.

[ghost of miles]

Correct. It is a great performance that was, for some odd reason, unavailable in the U.S. for a number of years.

Yes, I found it in the "import" bin at a store called the Listening Booth in late '78 or early '79, and was thrilled, because I didn't even know it existed. I may still have the vinyl, buried somewhere in my parents' basement. (I don't wanna go down to it, ya know... )

[Jazzmoose]

Perhaps goofy to say, but they were to me what I imagine the Beach Boys were to many in the early 1960s.

You know, I think that sums it up perfectly! If you couldn't smile when a Ramones song came on, you were either brain dead, or really needed to get over yourself...

[BruceH]

Perhaps goofy to say, but they were to me what I imagine the Beach Boys were to many in the early 1960s.

NOT goofy at ALL!!!

Time to pull out the first four albums, all of which are great.

[dave9199]

My favorite album is 1984's Too Tough To Die. E-e-e-en-n-d-d-d-less Vaca-a-a-a-tion & Wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-rt, WART HOG!

[John B]

I've been hearing reports today that the prognosis is nowhere near as grim as Marky made it out to be in the article posted above. I'm hoping this is true and Johnny stays around for a long time to come.

Gabba Gabba We Accept You, One of Us!

[Dmitry]

Update - RAMONES Guitarist Is Not Dying [Hot Flashes - 04.06.16 21:44:44]

Further to today's earlier report about RAMONES guitarist Johnny Ramone suffering from prostate cancer, Kurt Loder of MTV.com has filed the following:

Johnny Ramone is not dying, according to his doctor.

The Ramones guitarist, who has been living with prostate cancer for the past several years, was recently admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles with what his physician, Dr. David Agus, told MTV News was a "complication from the cancer. But he got through it, and he's now on a new, experimental therapy. He's fighting courageously, and I think he will be going home in the near term."

Johnny's admission to Cedars-Sinai set off a nationwide — maybe worldwide — media death watch. He was said to be in an intensive-care unit, and very near the end. Characteristically, the 55-year-old guitarist, a stubbornly private man, refused to issue a corrective press statement. His wife, Linda, however, was appalled by the funereal headlines, and authorized Dr. Agus to explain Johnny's condition.

"He's not dying," Linda said on Wednesday afternoon (June 16). "He was okay for years, and he's fine now. He's in the hospital, but he's not in ICU. And I think he may be leaving by tomorrow."

[7/4]

I wonder how Elvin and his wife felt.