Online Encyclopedia
Johnny Ramone
John Cummings (October 8, 1948–September 15, 2004), better known as Johnny Ramone, was the lead guitarist for the punk rock group The Ramones. Along with vocalist Joey Ramone, he remained a member of the band throughout their career.
The Ramones song "The KKK Took My Baby Away" was inspired by Joey Ramone's ex-girlfriend starting a relationship with Johnny. (They later married.) Embittered, the two would not speak to each other for most of the band's career, and Johnny Ramone refused to call his former bandmate even as Joey Ramone was dying of cancer.
Alongside his music career, he acted in several movies and made television appearances on shows such as The Simpsons.
As a kid, he played in a band called the Tangerine Puppets. When he was older, he was known as a "greaser", though was later described as a tie-dye wearing Stooges fan.
Johnny was noted for his cool, reserved attitude that he kept at (mostly) all times.
In 2002, he announced that he was a Republican. [1]
On September 15, 2004, he died in his Los Angeles home after a five year battle with prostate cancer.