One-two-three-four! The Ramones, a four-man rock band from Forest Hills, Queens, played the Bowery music club CBGB for the very first time on August 16, 1974.
Not only would Joey, Johnny, Tommy and Dee Dee reinvigorate downtown New York nightlife here — creating a unique and energetic form of punk — but they would join with a small group of musicians at CBGB to revolutionize American music in the 1970s.
In this episode we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Ramones’ first performances in downtown Manhattan, but this also a tribute to New York music of the 1970s and to the most famous rock-music club in America.
CBGB & OMFUG officially stands for “Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers,” and Hilly Kristal‘s legendary hole-in-the-wall music venue on the Bowery would be best defined by that “other music” — namely punk, new wave and later hardcore.
Over the course of 70 performances, the Ramones would perfect their sound and appearance on the ragged little stage here at CBGB, building upon musical influences like the local glam rock scene (the New York Dolls, Jayne County) and their own nostalgic callbacks to the Beatles.
The mid-1970s CBGBs scene would produce other artists who would go on to mainstream, international fame — Patti Smith, Television, the Talking Heads and Blondie. Not only would these artists become associated with the Bowery, but most of them would live on the surrounding streets.
On this special episode, Greg is joined by an incredible roster of guests including Ramones record producer and engineer Ed Stasium; longtime CBGBs fixture BG Hacker; tour guide and Ramones fan Ann McDermott and music historian Jesse Rifkin, author of This Must Be The Place: Music, Community and Vanished Spaces in New York City.
LISTEN NOW: THE RAMONES AT CBGB
A special themed playlist for you on Spotify! You can find it there or just listen from the player below:
And if you’d like to own a piece of the Ramones, head over to the Rhino Records’ Ramones online store.
A special thanks to Greg Jakubik from Shore Fire Media for his help in arranging interviews.
FURTHER LISTENING
Last year we produced a two-part episode on the history of the East Village. Well, surprise! This is the third part of the series and you can listen to it between the prior two:
Creating the East Village
Walking the East Village: Culture Among The Ruins
FURTHER READING
Stephen B. Armstrong / I Want You Around
Deborah Harry / Face It: A Memoir
Will Hermes / Love Goes To Buildings On Fire
Mickey Leigh / I Slept with Joey Ramone: A Punk Rock Family Memoir
Jim McCarthy, Brian Williamson / Gabba Gabba Hey: The Graphic Story of the Ramones
Marky Ramone / Punk Rock Blitzkrieg
Richie Ramone / I Know Better Now
Jesse Rifkin / This Must Be The Place: Music, Community and Vanished Spaces in New York City.
Chris Stein / Under A Rock
Everett True / Hey Ho Let’s Go: The Story of the Ramones
5 replies on “The Ramones at CBGB: A musical revolution on the Bowery”
Played at CBs in 70s 80s and 90s with my bands The Oooze, Woody and the Splinters and Shadow! Always loved playing there as they had a tremendous sound system and I have great memories and stories about the gigs.
Highly enjoyable episode, even for someone like me who is well versed in this history and was witness to a great deal of it. But one correction: Roger Corman produced but did not direct Rock And Roll High School. The film was directed by Allan Arkush.
OMG you’re right! Thank you for the correction.
Really enjoyed this episode one thing
The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
Not “The”
[…] 50th Anniversary continues this summer and fall. In the meantime, check out a new episode of The Bowery Boys to dive deeper into the history of the band, and that legendary first CBGB […]