The Ramones’ First Press Release: We’re Part Musicians, Dentists & Degenerates (1975)

We have a thing for the ear­ly days of The Ramones.

Exhib­it A: We’ve fea­tured footage of one of their ear­li­est live shows per­formed at CBGB in 1974. And then comes anoth­er from 1977.

Exhib­it B: We’ve also dug up raw demo record­ings from their debut album (1975).

Now Exhib­it C: It’s a no-bs press release that announced the arrival of the band, and what it’s all about. Writ­ten by Tom­my Ramone (the drum­mer who died last sum­mer, but only after out­liv­ing all of the oth­er orig­i­nal band mem­bers), the one-pager describes The Ramones suc­cinct­ly: “The Ramones are an orig­i­nal Rock and Roll group of 1975, and their songs are brief, to the point and every one a poten­tial hit sin­gle.” And with a lit­tle bit of humor. “The Ramones all orig­i­nate from For­est Hills and kids who grew up there either became musi­cians, degen­er­ates or den­tists. The Ramones are a lit­tle of each. Their sound is not unlike a fast drill on a rear molar.”

You can click the press release above to read it in a larg­er for­mat. Or read the tran­script below.

The Ramones are not an oldies group, they are not a glit­ter group, they don’t play boo­gie music and they don’t play the blues. The Ramones are an orig­i­nal Rock and Roll group of 1975, and their songs are brief, to the point and every one a poten­tial hit sin­gle.

The quar­tette con­sists of John­ny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tom­my Ramone, John­ny, the gui­tarist, plays with such force that his sound has been com­pared to a hun­dred how­itzers going off. Joey, the lead singer, is an arch vil­lain whose lanky frame stands threat­en­ing cen­ter stage. Dee Dee is Bass gui­tar and the acknowl­edged hand­some one of the group, and Tom­my is the drum­mer whose pul­sat­ing play­ing launch­es the throb­bing sound of the band.

The Ramones all orig­i­nate from For­est Hills and kids who grew up there either became musi­cians, degen­er­ates or den­tists. The Ramones are a lit­tle of each. Their sound is not unlike a fast drill on a rear molar.

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Relat­ed Con­tent

Hear The Ramones’ Raw Demo Record­ings For Their Debut Album (1975)

Hear Joey Ramone Sing a Piece by John Cage Adapt­ed from James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake

Pat­ti Smith Plays Songs by The Ramones, Rolling Stones, Lou Reed & More on CBGB’s Clos­ing Night (2006)