One of the first and most influential punk rock bands, the Ramones was founded in New York City by Jeffery Hyman, John Cummings and Douglas Colvin. Upon the band's formation in 1974, Colvin adopted the name Dee Dee Ramone and convinced the other founding members to follow suit: Cummings became Johnny Ramone and Hymann became Joey Ramone. To complete its lineup, the trio added Thomas Erdelyi, who became Tommy Ramone, on drums. The Ramones played its first show at the iconic downtown Manhattan club CBGB in 1974, earning immediate praise for its strikingly loud and dangerous sound that stood in contrast to the widespread hippie movement. Two years later in 1976, the Ramones recorded its eponymous debut album, and while the record was widely overlooked in the US, it sparked a tour of the UK that united the band with other like-minded artists The Sex Pistols and The Clash, who were already shaking up the growing British punk rock scene. The tour proved to be the catalyst for commercial success, and the band's quick-paced and raucous style of music, packaged in songs no longer than two and half minutes long, began to rise in popularity alongside the disco dance pop craze of the 1970s. After releasing over a dozen albums over a decades-long period, the Ramones played its farewell show in 1996 at the Palace in Hollywood, but its legacy of rapid-fire guitar and fast-paced songs continues to influence punk and garage rock bands around the world.
