Richie Ramone | |
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.jpg) Richie performing live in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Reinhardt |
| Born | August 11, 1957 Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Punk rock |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1982–present |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | richieramone |
Richard Reinhardt (born August 11, 1957) is an American drummer best known by his stage name Richie Ramone, and for being the drummer for the punk band the Ramones from February 1983 until August 1987. As of 2024, he is one of four surviving members of the band, the others being Marky Ramone, Elvis Ramone, and C.J. Ramone. Richie appeared on three studio albums with the Ramones and played on Joey Ramone's second solo album ...Ya Know? He has later released three solo albums and currently fronts his own solo band.
Prior to joining the Ramones, Reinhardt played drums for Velveteen and the Shirts.[1] He joined the Ramones in February 1983 before the release of Subterranean Jungle, and appeared in two music videos from that album, although he did not play on the record itself. In his first months with the group he broke the tradition of adopting the Ramones surname and instead performed under the stage name Richie Beau.[2] However, by the time of his first recordings with the band he had switched to the name Richie Ramone. He played on the Ramones albums Too Tough to Die, Animal Boy and Halfway to Sanity and appears on their compilation albums Greatest Hits, Loud, Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits and Weird Tales of the Ramones, and on the Ramones live video album It's Alive 1974-1996. He wrote the Ramones' hit song "Somebody Put Something in My Drink" off the Animal Boy album and later included on the compilation album Ramones Mania, the first Ramones album to go gold. Richie also wrote the songs "Smash You", "Humankind", "I'm Not Jesus", "I Know Better Now" and "(You) Can't Say Anything Nice". Richie's songs "I'm Not Jesus" and "Somebody Put Something in my Drink" have later been covered by new generations of bands worldwide, notably by metal bands Children of Bodom and Behemoth.
Richie was the only drummer to sing lead vocals on a Ramones song, including "(You) Can't Say Anything Nice" and the unreleased 1985 demo "Elevator Operator" written by Joey Ramone, which also featured Joey's brother Mickey Leigh on guitar and Dave U. Hall on bass, both from The Rattlers, as well a multitude of Ramones demos. Joey said of Richie: "Richie's very talented and he's very diverse . . . He really strengthened the band a hundred percent because he sings backing tracks, he sings lead, and he sings with Dee Dee's stuff. In the past, it was always just me singing for the most part."[3] Richie performed over 500 shows with the Ramones all over the world, including South America, where rabid fans held up signs proclaiming "Richie" and "Drink", the latter referring to the song "Somebody put Something in my Drink" written by Richie.
The relationship of the Ramones members was often rocky, as documented in 22-year tour manager Monte Melnick's book, On the Road with the Ramones, and Mickey Leigh's book, I Slept with Joey Ramone. In the documentary End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, Richie reveals that he had artistic differences with Johnny Ramone that escalated in the recording studio while Richie was re-mixing Halfway to Sanity at the late night request of Joey Ramone to fix the album.[4] Johnny would also refuse to credit Richie for the remixes on the album and would not allow him to write more than one or two songs per album.[5] However, Richie enjoyed close bonds with songwriter/bassist Dee Dee Ramone[6] and Joey Ramone who stated, "[Richie] saved the band as far as I'm concerned. He's the greatest thing to happen to the Ramones. He put the spirit back in the band."[7][8]
Richie left the band abruptly in August 1987 after financial conflicts with Johnny Ramone. Richie stated that he had asked for a small percentage of the merchandise income based on his tenure with the band and their use of his name and image, which he claimed Joey and Dee Dee was in favor of, but Johnny refused.[9] Richie said that he never felt entitled to a large share as he was not a founding member, but that it was about being a part of the band rather than a hired hand and mentioned feeling left out on tours when the other members would go to cash their merchandise checks.[10] After leaving the Ramones, Richie remained friends with Dee Dee and worked on some of his solo recordings.[11][12] He was briefly replaced by Clem Burke of Blondie and The Romantics fame, using the name Elvis Ramone. After Elvis played just two gigs, Richie's predecessor Marky Ramone rejoined the band and stayed until the band broke up in 1996. After Joey's passing in 2001, Richie was along with Tommy and C. J. the only Ramones to attend his funeral.[13][14] Richie would later express sadness over not being able to reconnect with Joey before his death given their close friendship while in the band.[15]
In September 2007, Richie filed a federal lawsuit titled Reinhardt v. Wal-mart Stores, Inc. et al. in the Southern District of New York. He alleged that the copyright on the six tunes he wrote for the Ramones had been infringed when the band's management licensed the band's recordings for sale as digital downloads. The defendants were Wal-mart Stores, Inc., Apple, Inc., RealNetworks, Inc., Taco Tunes, Inc., Ramones Productions, Inc., Estate of John Cummings, Herzog & Strauss, and Ira Herzog (i.e., he was suing the band, its managers, its publishing company, and three leading sellers of digital downloads.) Judge Shira Scheindlin dismissed the case in May 2008, on the grounds that no copyright infringement had occurred, even though she acknowledged that there might be other unsettled issues between Richie Ramone and his former band.[16] These issues were subsequently resolved and resulted in Richie Ramone obtaining full writing and publishing rights to the songs.[17]
Richie is still involved with music, as a composer and instrumentalist. In August 2007, he debuted a classical composition entitled "Suite for Drums and Orchestra" (based on themes from West Side Story) with the Pasadena Pops. Richie Ramone was both the featured soloist and the concerto's co-composer, a feat no other punk rock drummer had done before. The work was commissioned by Pops music director Rachael Worby and was met with acclaim by critics who noted that Richie "brought the audience to its feet after his faster-than-the-human-eye-can-follow drumming".[18] Richie regularly plays at the annual "Joey Ramone Birthday Bash" with Joey's brother Mickey Leigh, including songs with Tommy Ramone before his passing in 2014.[19][20] In 2011, the Ramones were awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Leigh invited Richie to give a short speech at the awards ceremony where Richie noted that it was the first time in history that all three Ramones drummers were gathered and mused that Joey would be proud of the Achievement Award.[21] Richie would later be the only surviving Ramone to feature on the long-anticipated second Joey Ramone solo album ...Ya Know?, released in 2012.[22][23]
In 2013, Richie Ramone signed with DC-Jam Records and released his first solo album, Entitled, on October 8, 2013.[24] Billboard debuted the LP's first single, "Criminal" and noted, "Back to holding the songwriting reins, Ramone's 12 freshest cuts aim to please fans of both rock and metal with its blend of barre chord-chugging simplicity and guitar hero virtuosity."[25][26] Richie released his second solo album Cellophane in 2016. In 2018, Ritchie's autobiography, I Know Better Now: My life before, during and after The Ramones, was published by Backbeat Books. The book was written with Peter Aaron. Richie continues to tour with his solo band and occasionally plays with former Ramones bassist C. J. Ramone.[27]
