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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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PUNK ROCK BLITZKRIEG

Marky Ramone Rich Herschlag

My Life as a Ramone

The inside story behind one of the most revered bands in music history during the early days of punk rock in New York, from legendary drummer Marky Ramone.
Rolling Stone ranked the Ramones at #26 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” They received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 and were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. And Marky Ramone played a major part in this success—his “blitzkrieg” style of drumming drove the sound the Ramones pioneered. Now, fans can get the inside story.

Before he joined the Ramones, Marc Bell was already a name in the New York music scene. But when he joined three other tough misfits, he became Marky Ramone, and the rhythm that came to epitomize punk was born. Now, having outlived the three other long-term Ramones, Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee, Marky is the only person who can share the secrets and stories of the Ramones’ improbable rise from humble beginnings to induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But it wasn’t all good times and hit songs, and Marky doesn’t shy away from discussing his own struggles for sobriety, including the addiction that led him to be temporarily kicked out of the band.

From the cult film Rock ‘n’ Roll High School through “I Wanna Be Sedated” through his own struggle with alcoholism, Marky Ramone sets the record straight, painting an unflinching picture of the dysfunction behind the band that changed a generation. With exclusive behind-the-scenes photos, Punk Rock Blitzkrieg is both a cultural history of punk and a stirring story of addiction: the story that millions of fans have been waiting for.

Born Marc Bell on July 15, 1956, Marky Ramone, a Brooklyn native, joined the Ramones in 1978 at the age of 22, replacing original drummer Tommy Ramone. This provided the group's solid rhythm foundation until its retirement in 1996. Most recently, he's toured and recorded with his own band, Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg. He was honored in 2010 with a drum scholarship in his name by the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles.
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Book

Published 2015-01-01 by Touchstone

Book

Published 2015-01-01 by Touchstone

Comments

Marky was an integral part of not one, but TWO of the most important bands in rock and roll. He saw everything from ground zero and lived to tell about it. Absolutely vital document!

Marky's music and style defined the punk rock movement and has influenced countless artists, entertainers and designers. As a musician, he harnessed the energy of the 1970s counterculture into a truly new movement, one that resulted in a seismic shift in fashion, art and music. While playing in great groups like Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys, Dust, Estus, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and of course The Ramones he became known as one of the best drummers of our time, rivaling Keith Moon. I first saw him perform with Estus in 1973 in Horseheads, New York when they opened for B.B.King. It will forever be an amazing memory.

SPANISH WORLD: Planeta, BRITISH: John Blake Publishing, PORTUGUESE/Brazil: Planeta

Marky and I are from the 70's; as a drummer from the 70's, he can show the new boys a beat or two! He's legend!!!

The Ramones are one of the three or four most influential American rock bands of all time, and their story, as related by surviving member Marky Ramone, is both entertaining and enlightening. So put on your old leather jacket, scream Gabba-Gabba-Hey at the top of your lungs, and dig in.