What was Joey Ramone's Net Worth?
Joey Ramone was an American musician and singer-songwriter who had a net worth of $4 million at the time of his death. Joey Ramone was best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Ramones. With the hugely influential band, he released such albums as "Rocket to Russia," "End of the Century," "Pleasant Dreams," and "Acid Eaters," and recorded such well-known songs as "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "I Wanna Be Sedated." Additionally, Ramone performed with the band the Seclusions, and later had two posthumously released solo albums.
Joey co-founded the Ramones with his friends Douglas Colvin and John Cummings in 1974 and started using the name Joey Ramone. Joey was originally the drummer for the band before becoming the group's vocalist. The Ramones were listed by Rolling Stone as one of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time. They were also listed by VH1 as one of the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. They were voted the second greatest rock band behind The Beatles by Spin magazine in 2002.
The Ramones released 14 studio albums. Some of their most popular songs include "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Rock 'n' Roll High School". The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Joey released two solo studio albums. Joey Ramone passed away on April 15, 2001, a month before he would have turned 50 of lymphoma.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Early Life
Joey Ramone was born as Jeffrey Ross Hyman on May 19, 1951 in the Queens borough of New York City to Jewish parents Noel and Charlotte. He was born with a parasitic twin on his back, which was surgically removed due to its incomplete development. Ramone has a younger brother named Mitchel, better known by his stage name Mickey Leigh. As a teenager, Ramone went to Forest Hills High School. During this time, he began playing the drums and acoustic guitar. When Ramone was 18, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and OCD.
Career Beginnings
In 1972, Ramone joined the glam punk band Sniper, with which he performed under the stage name Jeff Starship. The original lineup also included drummer Patrick Franklyn, bassist Peter Morales, and guitarists Bob Butani and Danny Wray. In 1974, Ramone left Sniper and was succeeded by Alan Turner.
The Ramones
With his former high school friends Douglas Colvin and John Cummings, Ramone co-founded the punk rock band the Ramones in 1974. As members in the band, Colvin used the stage name Dee Dee Ramone and Cummings became Johnny Ramone. The three men were soon joined by Thomas Erdelyi, who adopted the stage name Tommy Ramone. In 1976, the Ramones released their self-titled debut album. Although commercially unsuccessful, the album was highly praised by critics; it also launched the track "Blitzkrieg Bop," which would become one of the band's most famous songs. The Ramones went on to release two albums in 1977: "Leave Home" and "Rocket to Russia." The latter was the group's last album to feature all four of its original members. This was followed by the album "Road to Ruin." In 1980, the Ramones released what would become their highest-charting album, "End of the Century," which peaked at number 44 in the US and at number 14 in the UK.
Throughout the remainder of the 80s, the Ramones put out the albums "Pleasant Dreams"; "Subterranean Jungle"; "Too Tough to Die"; "Animal Boy"; "Halfway to Sanity"; and "Brain Drain." The group also released the compilation album "Ramones Mania," which went on to earn a Gold certification by the RIAA. In the early 90s, the Ramones released "Mondo Bizarro," their first album to feature bassist C.J. Ramone, and "Acid Eaters," which was the band's only album to be entirely comprised of covers. The Ramones released their 14th and final studio album, "¡Adios Amigos!," in 1995. A year later, the group disbanded.
Ramones in NYC, 1979. (Photo by David Tan/Shinko Music/Getty Images)
Influence and Legacy
Although not particularly successful commercially, the Ramones exerted a heavy influence on popular music, helping to pioneer the genres of punk and hardcore rock. The band was especially influential on such California punk groups as Black Flag, Ministry, Social Distortion, and the Dead Kennedys. Understanding of the Ramones' significance has steadily grown over the years. In 2011, the band was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Today, Joey Ramone is widely regarded as the godfather of punk music; a biographical film entitled "I Slept with Joey Ramone" has been made in his honor.
Collaborations
While he was still with the Ramones in the 80s, Ramone had a side project called the Seclusions. He also collaborated with a variety of other artists during his career. In 1985, Ramone was one of 50 recording artists to perform on the protest song "Sun City," which was organized by Steven Van Zandt's activist group Artists United Against Apartheid. Later, in 1994, Ramone contributed to Helen Love's album "Love and Glitter," singing the song "Punk Boy."
Among his other music contributions, Ramone co-wrote and recorded the track "Meatball Sandwich" with the punk band Youth Gone Mad. He did his last recording as a vocalist on the album "One Nation Under" by the Native American punk group Blackfire.
Solo Career
Late in his life, Ramone did solo recordings that were ultimately released as a pair of posthumous albums. The first, "Don't Worry About Me," came out in early 2002. Making it to number 21 on the Billboard 200, the album included the single "What a Wonderful World," a cover of the classic Louis Armstrong tune. A decade later, in 2012, Ramone's second and final solo album, "…Ya Know?," came out through BMG.
Personal Life and Death
Ramone was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1995. However, he didn't publicly announce his battle with the disease until March of 2001. A month later, Joey Ramone passed away at the age of 49.
