POSTSCRIPT
Dee Dee Ramone Died 20 Years Ago Today
Remembering the legendary Ramones bassist
Anyone who has ever listened to the Ramones, will immediately recognize the famous rapid-fire shouted, “One! Two! Three! Four!” count-in for nearly every song they performed live or in-studio.
That legendary rhythmic rally cry was courtesy of Dee Dee Ramone, bassist for The Ramones from the time of their formation in 1974, until his departure from the band, fifteen years later, in 1989.
Douglas Glenn Colvin, a.k.a. Dee Dee Ramone, was born on September 18, 1951, in Fort Lee, Virginia. His father was a soldier whose military service took his family to West Berlin, West Germany, where he would live until he was 15 years old. At this time, his parents split, and Dee Dee moved with his mother to Forest Hills, New York.
It was there he met John Cummings and Thomas Erdelyi (later dubbed Johnny and Tommy Ramone, respectfully) and the trio quickly became fast friends. Johnny introduced Dee Dee to Jeffrey Hyman, a.k.a. Joey Ramone, and at the suggestion of Dee Dee, the group decided to form a band, naming themselves the Ramones after “Paul Ramon” which was Paul McCartney’s alias he used when checking into hotels.
