Album · 50 years old this year
Ramones
Ramones is the debut album from the New York punk band, released on 23 April 1976 on Sire Records. It came together quickly after Hit Parader editor Lisa Robinson wrote about the group and urged Danny Fields to manage them. Fields brought in producer Craig Leon, and Sire president Seymour Stein signed the band. Recording began in January 1976 and took just seven days and $6,400.
The songs are short and fast, many well over 160 beats per minute, with the longest, "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement", running two and a half minutes. They mix humour with darker themes, and the record opens with "Blitzkrieg Bop" and includes a cover of "Let's Dance". It only reached number 111 on the US chart, yet it went on to shape punk, grunge and heavy metal. Roberta Bayley's brick-wall cover photo has been copied endlessly, and Rolling Stone later named it the best debut album of all time.
Ramones: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 29:14Tracklist
- 1Blitzkrieg BopColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone2:14
- 2Beat on the BratColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone2:32
- 3Judy Is a PunkColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone1:33
- 4I Wanna Be Your BoyfriendColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone2:25
- 5Chain SawColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone1:56
- 6Now I Wanna Sniff Some GlueColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone1:36
- 7I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the BasementColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone2:38
- 8LoudmouthColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone2:15
- 9Havana AffairColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone1:57
- 10Listen to My HeartColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone1:59
- 1153rd & 3rdColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone2:22
- 12Let’s DanceJim Lee1:52
- 13I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With YouColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone1:43
- 14Today Your Love, Tomorrow the WorldColvin, Erdelyi, Ramone, Ramone, Ramones2:11
- Produced by
- Thomas Erdelyi, Craig Leon
- Recorded at
- Plaza Sound Studios (Radio City Music Hall in New York)
- Recorded
- January 1976
- Engineered by
- Rob Freeman
- Labels
- Sire Records, Sire
- Length
- 29:14
Line-up
- Dee Dee Ramone · bass guitar
- Johnny Ramone · guitar
- Tommy Ramone · drums (drum set)
- Joey Ramone · lead vocals
Singles
- “Blitzkrieg Bop” · February 1976
- “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” · September 1976
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1976 | 111 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2002 | 33 |
| German Albums · 2016 | 44 |
| Swedish Albums · 1976 | 46 |
| Italian Albums · 2011 | 67 |
| Spanish Albums · 2016 | 76 |
| Scottish Albums · 2016 | 82 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2020 | 173 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 2021 | Silver |
| United States · 2026 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
88.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
11k
ListenBrainz listeners
171k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
28k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 23 April
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Full discography →
Leave Home
1977
Rocket to Russia
1977
Road to Ruin
1978
It’s Alive
1979
End of the Century
1980
Pleasant Dreams
1981
Subterranean Jungle
1983
Too Tough to Die
1984
Chasing the Night / Howling at the Moon (Sha‐La‐La)
1985
Howling at the Moon
1985
Bonzo Goes to Bitburg
1985
Something to Believe In
1986
Animal Boy
1986
Halfway to Sanity
1987
Ramones Mania
1988
Brain Drain
1989
All the Stuff (and More), Volume 2
1990
All the Stuff (and More), Volume 1
1990
Loco Live
1991
Mondo Bizarro
1992
Acid Eaters
1993
¡Adios Amigos!
1995
Greatest Hits Live
1996
We’re Outta Here!
1997
Anthology: Hey Ho, Let’s Go!
1999
Ramones Mania 2
2000
Ramones You Don't Come Close 2001
You Don't Come Close
2001
Best of the Chrysalis Years
2002
The Chrysalis Years
2002
Loud, Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits
2002
NYC 1978
2003
The Best of the Ramones
2004
Weird Tales of the Ramones
2005
Greatest Hits
2006
Meltdown With the Ramones
2014
Spider‐Man
2019
LIVE FM Radio Broadcast Concert (City Hall Plaza, San Francisco, USA, 8th June 1979)
2025
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The label →
The Top
The Cure · 1984
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Ramones · 1978
End of the Century
Ramones · 1980
Leave Home
Ramones · 1977
Meltdown With the Ramones
Ramones · 2014
ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ
Ministry · 1992
Pleasant Dreams
Ramones · 1981
The Land of Rape and Honey
Ministry · 1988
Too Tough to Die
Ramones · 1984
Subterranean Jungle
Ramones · 1983
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
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Coral Fang
The Distillers · 2003
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 23 April 1976 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 April 1976 | |
| Wikidata | 23 April 1976 | |
| US release | 23 April 1976 | earliest US date |
22 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Rhino | 603497909629 | other |
| — | FR | Rhino | 0603497903962 | other |
| — | XW | Rhino | 603497873036 | remaster |
| 23 April 1976 | US | Sire Records | original | |
| 23 April 1976 | US | Sire Records | original | |
| 1978 | PT | Sire Records | other | |
| 1987 | AU | Aim Records | other | |
| 1990 | JP | Sire Records | 4988014731416 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Sire Records | 075992742122 | other |
| 2001 | XE | Rhino | 081227430627 | other |
| 19 June 2001 | US | Rhino | 081227430627 | remaster |
| 19 June 2001 | US | Warner Archives | 081227430627 | remaster |
| 19 June 2001 | CA | Rhino | 081227430627 | remaster |
| 2002 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 5 September 2007 | JP | Sire Records | 4943674073795 | other |
| 2011 | XE | Sire Records | 081227976675 | other |
| 2016 | US | Rhino | 081227942991 | remaster |
| 9 September 2016 | XE | Ramones Productions Inc. | 081227945176 | deluxe |
| 9 September 2016 | XE | Rhino | 081227942991 | other |
| 9 September 2016 | US | Rhino | deluxe | |
| 15 April 2017 | XW | — | other | |
| 7 August 2019 | JP | Sire Records | 4943674298228 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |