Posted on 06/15/2004 7:23:26 PM PDT by NYC GOP Chick
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.
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**FILE PHOTO** Rolling Stone magazine reports Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone is fighting a losing a battle with cancer in a Los Angeles hospital. Shown, Johnny Ramone, center, is flanked by bandmates Marky Ramone, right, and Dee Dee Ramone after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) |
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Never heard of any of them. Are they supposed to be good?
Not the longest lifespan for that group.
Not to seem too morbid but .... "John never smoked cigarettes" brings up odd thoughts when talking about someone with prostate cancer !??!
Yeah. They were good.
Get that PSA test guys, same thing took a friend of mine at too early an age.
If I was Marky, I wouldn't leave the house.
IIRC, Johnny is a conservative, the only one of them in the group. NewsMax interviewed him a while back.
Early detection plus aggressive treatment almost always leads to a successful outcome.
Well, it's a good thing we've spent billions on a very preventable disease (AIDS) rather than on something like cancer.
</sarcasm>
This is depressing. Johnny was one of my guitar heroes. Never went to see a touring band as often as them. Bought the first album on the suggestion of a friend at 14. I literally grew up with the band.
What's also a bummer is they ended well as a band but are all dying so young. After Johnny leaves their two drummers, Tommy Erdyli and Marc Bell.
Johnny also is a Republican. Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept one of us.
This sucks! :(
I'd say. Marc Bell's father was a very famous labor attorney in the Midwest. Joey I think became more conservative late, but unsure. Dee Dee, well, he had issues.
I always liked them -- and that was *looong* before I knew that he's a Republican!
Well, he might have sucked on a few joints...
Dang - I remember when they were a bar band playing in Sheepshead Bay.
FWIW, Marky once invited me to shoot his dandy CZ-70 (74 ?) machine pistol in a state where it was legal. I know he had a past, but he sure seemed an O.K. guy to me..in the mid-80's.
oops,
I meant to say look up "Rock 'n Roll High School" at your video/DVD store.
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