R.I.P. Tommy Ramone

One by one, all the members of The Ramones will have moved on soon. Already, yesterday, Tommy Ramone (born Erdelyi Tamas), the last surviving member of the band passed away.

He was the first drummer the public associated with the group - Joey had started out on drums but quickly moved to singing. The rest of the original line-up had passed away more than a decade ago: Joey (lead vocals) died in 2004, Dee Dee (bass) in 2002, and Johnny (guitar) in 2001.

C.J. (bass, 1989-1996), Elvis (drums, 1987 and 2004), and Richie (drums, 1984-1987) are still alive, as is Marky (drums, 1978-1982, 1987-1996), who many consider the band's ''real'' or ''classic'' drummer, seeing as he was part of every incarnation of the band with all of its members save Tommy.

The band was inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002.

Video Of The Week: The Ramones

The Ramones. They dressed like ''rockers'' (blue jeans, black leather jackets, Beatles-esque haircuts of varying lengths), shared a fictitious last name inspired by one of John Lennon's alternate names when checking into hotels, and sang songs that lasted less than 3 minutes.

They are widely regarded as having kick-started the punk rock movement, both in the U.S. as part of the New York City scene (cemented by their many appearances at C.B.G.B.'s) and U.K. (their first tour is said to have inspired acts such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash to take up instruments, as well as U2) and, between 1974 and 1996, performed 2263 shows, had 5 drummers to play on their 14 studio albums, and influenced hundreds of bands.

They also sang a Christmas song, which I'm offering you this week.

Video Of The Week: Ramones

Inspired by my Facebook Status Battle Of The Bands (every day I ask my friends to vote between two music acts, a winner is declared and moves on to the next round), in which today's battle is: Ramones Vs Sex Pistols.

My choice is Ramones - and so far it's 9-0, a landslide I didn't quite expect, but one that makes an awful lot of sense when you compare the numbers: the Ramones came first, released 14 studio albums, 13 (!) compilation albums, and 6 live albums - to the Pistols' 1 studio album, 7 compilations (!!!) and 4 live albums.

Oh, and 2,263 shows in 20-some years with something like 4 different drummers, that's pretty impressive, as is having a Mötorhead song named after you. Oh, and dressing minimalistically as a statement, rather than being a pre-fabricated, glorified Boy Band.

But I also didn't want to ''just put a Ramones song'' here, I wanted something special, and I found it in their 1995 cover of the (1992) Tom Waits track I Don't Wanna Grow Up. Waits if perhaps my favourite songwriter out there, his songs touch me deeper than anything else, and he changes musical styles completely every 5 years or so, reinventing not just himself but his stories altogether. He is a huge Ramones fan - and they sent their love right back, like here: