On August 6, 1996, The Ramones performed their final concert, at The Palace in Los Angeles. For more than twenty years, The Ramones had been pioneers of punk rock. They were never a large commercial success, but their influence on punk and rock was enormous.
The band formed in Queens in 1974. None of the members were actually named Ramone; none of them were even related. Douglas Colvin, John Cummings, and Jeffrey Hyman adopted the pseudonyms Dee Dee, Johnny, and Joey Ramone, inspired by the name Paul Ramon, which Paul McCartney had once used as a pseudonym. They were quickly joined by Tommy Ramone (Thomas Erdelyi).
The first public performance of The Ramones was on March 30, 1974. In August of that year, they made their first appearance at the New York club CBGB, which was an important venue for punk and new wave music in the 1970s and 1980s. They instantly became regulars, and performed as CBGB more than 70 times by the end of the year.
The Ramones released their debut album, Ramones, in 1976. The lead single was one of their best-known songs, "Blitzkrieg Bop." The band's style was fast and furious; most of their songs lasted less than two minutes. They described themselves as influenced by a wide range of the 1950s and 1960s pop and rock they'd grown up with, an eclectic mix of music that included British rock, bubblegum pop, and girl groups. Their blunt, crude, direct style was a reaction against what they saw as the overly slick production of 1970s pop music; The Ramones reduced everything to its most basic elements, with no frills or gloss.
The 1977 single "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" was the first Ramones song to make the Billboard charts, reaching #81. The follow-up, "Rockaway Beach," from the album Rocket to Russia, made it up to #66, the highest they'd ever get.
Tommy left the band in 1978. He'd gotten tired of touring, though he continued to produce their records under his birth name. Tommy was replaced on drums by Marky (Marc Bell). The first album from the new lineup was 1978's Road to Ruin, which includes another Ramones classic, "I Wanna Be Sedated."
The early 1980s were a difficult time for The Ramones. Their record company wanted more mainstream success from them, and Phil Spector was brought in to produce End of the Century. It sold better than their earlier albums, but the band wasn't happy with the way Spector pushed them towards the mainstream of rock and metal. That shift continued with Pleasant Dreams in 1981, and Johnny objected loudly to the pressure they were getting from their record company.
The critics praised the 1983 album Subterranean Jungle as a solid return to the band's original style. That year also saw another change in drummer; Marky's alcoholism had become a big enough problem that he was fired from the group, replaced by Richie (Richard Reinhardt). He was with the band for only a few years, and left in 1987, complaining that he wasn't getting a large enough share of the band's earnings. He was replaced very briefly by Elvis Ramone, the pseudonym of Clem Burke, the drummer from Blondie, which was disbanded at the moment. Elvis proved unable to handle the rapid tempos and constant high energy of The Ramones' music, and lasted for only two concerts. He was replaced by the returning Marky, who had gone through rehab during his time away.
The Ramones' personnel problems weren't done yet. The 1989 album Brain Drain was recorded with studio musicians playing bass, as Dee Dee grew increasingly frustrated with the frequent arguments among the band's members. He quit the group later that year, and was replaced by C. J. (Christopher Joseph Ward). The new lineup—Joey, Johnny, Marky, and C. J.—would remain in place until The Ramones disbanded in 1996.
They had made their official farewell tour in late 1995, but accepted an invitation to play as part of the Lollapalooza tour in the summer of 1996. After that tour, they placed their last concert on August 6 at The Palace. That concert was recorded, and released as We're Outta Here! The original lineup of The Ramones made their last public appearance together at an autograph signing in 1999. Joey Ramone died in 2001. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Their debut album was certified gold in 2014, 38 years after its release. Tommy Ramone, the last surviving member of the original lineup, died a few weeks later.
Several members of The Ramones wrote memoirs about their time with the band: Dee Dee's Lobotomy (e-book | print), Marky's Punk Rock Blitzkrieg (e-book | print), and Johnny's Commando (e-book | print). In addition to the albums linked above, more of The Ramones' music is available for streaming at Hoopla, including the comprehensive career overview Weird Tales of the Ramones.