Tommy Ramone Dies, The Ramone’s Original Drummer Laid The Beat for Punk [VIDEO]

Tommy Ramone, the last surviving original member of The Ramones, died at 62.

The Ramones' original drummer Tommy Ramone has died. Tommy played drums on The Ramone's first three studio albums and their first live album. He was supposed to be their manager, but Joey Ramone couldn't keep up with Johnny Ramone's down-strum power chords, so Tommy stepped in. He also produced the band.

The Ramones released the sad news on their Facebook page, saying

"We are saddened to announce the passing of Tommy Ramone (nee Erdelyi), the original drummer for the Ramones, earlier today, 11 July 2014.

 "It wasn't just music in The Ramones: it was an idea. It was bringing back a whole feel that was missing in rock music - it was a whole push outwards to say something new and different. Originally it was just an artistic type of thing; finally I felt it was something that was good enough for everybody." - Tommy Ramone, 1978

 RIP Tommy.

Tommy Ramone was born Thomas Erdelyi in Budapest, Hungary, on Jan. 29, 1949. He founded the Ramones with singer Joey Ramone, bassist/vocalist Dee Dee Ramon and guitarist Johnny Ramone in New York City in 1974. In the beginning Joey was the drummer.

In Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's Please Kill Me, Joey said "What happened was, they just kept playing faster and faster, and I couldn't keep up on the drums."

Dee Dee Ramon remembered "Tommy Ramone, who was managing us, finally had to sit down behind the drums, because nobody else wanted to," Dee Dee told McNeil and McCain.

The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. 

The Ramones were named after the nom de plum Paul McCartney was using when The Beatles were still The Silver Beatles, Paul Ramon.

The Ramones were more than a band. They had a philosophy and a uniform. Ripped jeans and leather jackets. They never had a Top 40 song, but without the Ramones there would be no The Clash, The Misfits, Green Day or Nirvana.

The Ramones broke up 1996 and released their last, live, album We're Outta Here!, in 1997.

Johnny Ramone, whose birth name was John Cummings, died in 2004 of prostate cancer. Joey Ramone, whose real name is Jeff Hyman, died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer. Dee Dee Ramone, whose real name is Douglas Colvin, died from a drug overdose in 2002. Tommy Ramone was born Erdelyi Tamas in Budapest, Hungary.