Rockport, Texas - Joey died of lymphoma in 2001. Dee Dee OD’d in 2002. Johnny died in 2004. CBGBs closed in 2006. Producer Phil Spector went on trial for murder. CBGBs owner Hilly Krystal died in 2007. Ex-manager Linda Stein was murdered in 2007. Curse anyone?

Formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, in 1974, all members of the band used stage names with their surnames as Ramone.

After touring virtually non-stop for 22 years, the band broke up in 1996. Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone all died within eight years of the break-up.

Joey did not live to see the Ramones inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he died of lymphatic cancer. Dee Dee made it to the induction ceremony in April 2002 - with Johnny, Tommy, and Marky - but died just two months later. Then Johnny lost his own battle with cancer.

Death also claimed Linda Stein, The Ramones ex-manager, and Hilly Kristal, the owner of the club where The Ramones got their start.

Joey died of lymphoma in 2001. Dee Dee OD’d in 2002. Johnny died in 2004. CBGBs closed in 2006. Producer Phil Spector went on trial for murder. CBGBs owner Hilly Krystal died in 2007. Ex-manager Linda Stein was murdered in 2007. Curse anyone?

Formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, in 1974, all members of the band used stage names with their surnames as Ramone.

After touring virtually non-stop for 22 years, the band broke up in 1996. Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone all died within eight years of the break-up.

Joey did not live to see the Ramones inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he died of lymphatic cancer. Dee Dee made it to the induction ceremony in April 2002 - with Johnny, Tommy, and Marky - but died just two months later. Then Johnny lost his own battle with cancer.

Death also claimed Linda Stein, The Ramones ex-manager, and Hilly Kristal, the owner of the club where The Ramones got their start.

Joey Ramone (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001)

Joey Ramone died of lymphoma at age 49. Joey was the lanky punk legend who fronted the Ramones and is credited with starting the international punk movement.

His signature leather jacket, torn jeans, face hidden behind a pair of sunglasses and a thick shock of dark hair defined punk’s early image and turned him into a counter-cultural icon worshiped the world over.

Loey suffered from mental hardship all his life, such as severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and was known to check himself into clinics when the symptoms became unbearable.

Two years after his death, a block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place , in recognition of his contribution to modern music.

Dee Dee Ramone (September 18, 1951 - June 5, 2002)

Dee Dee was a German American songwriter and The Ramones bass player, known for his distinctive count-in style, used to start off many Ramones songs.

Though nearly all of The Ramones songs were credited equally to all the band members, Dee Dee was the group’s primary lyricist and songwriter, penning songs such as 53rd & 3rd, Commando, Rockaway Beach and Poison Heart.

Although at first Dee Dee wanted to play the guitar, he became the bass guitarist for the group from their formation in 1974 through 1989, when he was replaced by C.J. Ramone. He left to pursue a short-lived career in rap music under the name Dee Dee King.

Dee Dee struggled with drug addiction for much of his life, especially heroin; he began using drugs as a teenager, and continued to use for the majority of his adult life. He seemed to clean up his act in the early 1990s and to remain clean for most of that decade until 2002, when he was found dead from a heroin overdose.

Dee Dee wrote two books: Poison Heart: Surviving the Ramones (aka Lobotomy) and Legend of a Rock Star, a daily journal of commentary on his last, hectic European tour in the spring of 2001. Both were released as non-fiction autobiographies, despite the fact that Legend of a Rock Star features a sequence in which Dee Dee murders a border guard.

Dee Dee also penned a novel, titled Chelsea Horror Hotel, in which he and his wife move into New York City’s famous Chelsea Hotel and believe they are staying in the same room where Sid Vicious allegedly killed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

Johnny Ramone (October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004)

Johnny Ramone died of prostate cancer. He was the guitarist for The Ramones. Along with vocalist Joey Ramone, he remained a member of the band throughout their career.

In 2003, Johnny Ramone was named the sixteenth greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone.

Johnny Ramone’s fast, loud and primitive guitar work helped lead the punk revolution. He was best known for his high-energy playing style. Johnny had the guitar sound that launched a thousand bands.

While many bands tried to emulate Johnny Ramone’s buzzsaw style of playing, most never got it right.

In 1983, Johnny got in a fight with Seth Macklin of the band Sub Zero Construction, in front of his apartment in the East Village. Johnny was seeing a girl (he found out she was a drunk) who was cheating on him with Macklin. Macklin kicked Johnny in the head and caused extensive injuries which required brain surgery. Johnny had to wear a baseball cap on stage until his hair grew back. He recovered, and the Ramones next album was titled Too Tough to Die, partly in his honor.

Johnny was infamous in the punk community as being one of a few conservatives.

Hilly Kristal (September 23, 1931 – August 28, 2007)

Hilly Kristal held a prominent place in New York City night-life after opening the doors to the CBGB nightclub in 1973.

A popular haunt amongst New York musicians the CBGB served as a venue for up and coming artists such as The Ramones and Blondie to establish a footing in the competitive American music scene.

Notable performances from Patti Smith and The Ramones helped elevate CBGB to cult status as Mr Kristal addressed New York’s changing music scene by allowing new wave and punk rock music to be performed at his club throughout the 1970s and 80s.

Linda Stein (1945 - October 30, 2007)

Stein was found dead in her apartment in Manhattan. Stein’s death was ruled a homicide and attributed the cause to “blunt impact trauma to the head and neck.”

A former personal assistant to Linda Stein was charged with second-degree murder in the death of the ex-Ramones manager.

The assistant said Stein treated her poorly, “just kept yelling at her” and made her sick by blowing pot smoke in her face. She also claimed her boss had verbally abused her.

Linda Stein began her career as a teacher, but left teaching to, along with Danny Fields, manage the Ramones.

She was formerly married to and advised Seymour Stein, president of Sire Records and vice president of Warner Bros. Records, who was instrumental in launching the careers of Madonna, The Ramones, Talking Heads and The Pretenders.

In the 1990s, Stein left band management and became a ‘real estate agent to the stars.’

Also, another person who was instrumental in nurturing the talents of the early Ramones, Joey Ramone’s mother, affectionately known as Mama Ramone suffered a heart attack in her home in 2007 and passed away.

The Phil Spector Connection:

Phil Spector produced The Ramones1979 album End of the Century. The Phil Spector sessions remain a turning point in Ramones history.

Legend has it that Spector was obsessive in the studio, making them play the opening chord of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School for eight hours straight. He locked the band in his house for hours, and he pulled a gun on Dee Dee.

Another time, Phil pulled a gun on the group and forced them to play his 1963 hit by the Ronettes, Baby I Love You.

In 2003, Spector was arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of 40-year-old nightclub hostess and B movie-actress Lana Clarkson of Los Angeles was found at his mansion.

After a 2007 mistrial, Spector was convicted in 2009, and given a prison sentence of 19 years to life.

Wearing tattered jeans, T-shirts, black leather jackets and disaffected expressions, the Ramones created a raw, energetic style of music that emanated out of New York’s underground and affected millions of fans all over the world.

Considered by many to be one of the most influential rock bands in America, the Ramones produced 21 albums and played more than 2,200 shows. Over the years, the group’s line-up also changed to include bassist C.J. Ramone, drummer Marky Ramone and drummer Richie Ramone.

But despite the acclaim (much of it belated) punk’s pioneering Ramones hold the dubious distinction of being the least acknowledged and least compensated of the heavyweight influences in rock music.

The Ramones never achieved the commercial success they so deserved. So bleak was the band’s journey, that a curse seems a plausible explanation.

Constant touring, accidents, feuds within the group, management problems, personal demons and unappreciative audiences have all helped fuel rumors of a curse.

Even no-nonsense Johnny Ramone had to wonder: “I don’t believe in curses, but it sure looks that way,” he said in an interview. “There are always disappointments on the road to success. We had more than our share of bad luck.”

The band called it quits in 1996 with not a single radio hit, top 40 album or Grammy on its track record.

The Ramones never played Madison Square Garden.

Sales of their final album, Adios Amigos, was extremely disappointing.

Was there a curse surrounding The Ramones?  Or is it just a rock ‘n roll legend found in the twisted lyrics of a song playing on a battered old jukebox - somewhere on the outskirts of Our Strange World?

It’s low tide on Rockaway Beach. Rock n’ Roll Radio is off the air and I feel like I Wanna Be Sedated. Tragic. I’m done.

Dean Terry for Our Strange World