Today, April 23, is the birthday of The Bard, William Shakespeare. So, a pretty legendary moment in the world of the arts. But it also happens to be a significant and pivotal moment in the history of rock-n-roll and the American music scene.
Fifty years ago, on this day in 1976, the self-titled debut album from The Ramones was released, and with that the world experienced what can be considered the birth of Punk.
Now, of course, discussions and debates about just when and where and how punk and punk rock began can fill books and university courses. And they have almost since its inception somewhere in the 1970s, somewhere around the Lower East Side. However, regardless of the inability to truly determine a singular moment -- which is arguably absurd -- the release of the Ramones' first LP is pivotal. It is undoubtedly an essential part of the story and the influence of that first record cannot be underestimated. It was then and remains to this day an absolute gamechanger.
Some interesting bits of trivia include the album being recorded in just a week for a miniscule $7000, and it did not make any sort of splash in terms of singles or units moved or chart placement. The classic punk image, captured perfectly on the cover by a photographer for PUNK Magazine is a direct reference and lineage to an original counterculture icon and anti-hero, Johnny Strabler as portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1950s rebel film The Wild One.
Who can forget the lines: "Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"
"Whattaya got?" is the terse response.
And, many people don't know that the Ramones is likely inspired by this bit of trivia -- Ramone was the alias Paul McCartney used when checking in to hotel.
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