Were THE RAMONES millionaires?
03-14-13, 12:36 PM
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Re: Were THE RAMONES millionaires?
Wait a second, did anyone suggest they were in the upper strata of millionaires in rock? The original question was were they millionaires. I'm actually suprised and impressed at that account of Joey owning a house in the Hollywood Hills. I was thinking more like he was living in an apartment in the Bronx. Makes me rethink how wealthy he was.
Johnny did live in Hollywood, in a modest house, not a mansion by any means based on the video/photos I've seen. I think they were probably pulling in about decent salaries from all the touring they did in the 80s and 90s and probably saved and invested it well. I don't think the Ramones ever got a huge payday (maybe they got a good chunk of change for "Pet Semetary") but probably got a lot of consistent decent sized pay days along the way that added up. I Wanna Be Sedated probably made some decent money on the publishing right. I wonder if they got some decent royalties for the use of Blitzkrieg Bop at all those sporting events.
03-14-13, 02:35 PM
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Re: Were THE RAMONES millionaires?
They saw how well groups from the previous decade, the 1960s, prospered (The Doors, Jimi Hendrex, Beatles, etc), and The Ramones were well received, and people (like me) did like them (I don't care for Richard Hell's music, or The New York Dolls at all)...yet they didn't make the kind of money their predesessors made, and I think that stinks! I think it really reeks of thievery of the record label (who undoubted made money, which is why they kept The Ramones on their label) and bad managers! Reeks of Gary Coleman Syndrome!
. . .
I'm actually suprised and impressed at that account of Joey owning a house in the Hollywood Hills. I was thinking more like he was living in an apartment in the Bronx. Makes me rethink how wealthy he was.
05-05-16, 12:46 AM
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Re: Were THE RAMONES millionaires?
I know this is an old thread but I know the answer to the question so I'm temporarily reviving it. Please forgive my long response but there is a lot of detail to fit in to answer the question fully.
I got my info from reading Johnny Ramone's autobiography "Commando", which is very detailed regarding Ramones finances, and watching "End of The Century: The Story of the Ramones" . Johnny Ramone's plan from the early get-go was to retire from the Ramones once he had saved up $1 million dollars. He is very specific about this plan and this exact number being his goal. He began saving money he wasn't already reinvesting into the group by the late gigs of 1974 and continued all the way until the time of 1992's Mondo Bizarro. By 1992 he claims to have saved his 1 million dollars. Johnny's bio also reveals he quite a Nazi when it came to saving so its safe to assume he was saving A LOT more than his problematic bandmates: Joey (alcoholic), Dee Dee (heroin addict), Marky (also alcoholic).
In spite of having saved up his target of $1 million by 1992 or so Johnny kept the band going for a few more years until 1996 with the release of Adios Amigos. The Ramones famously claimed they would continue onward as a band only if the album sold well, it didn't, and they did a series of extended farewell tours on Lollapalooza and in South America. Johnny retired to Los Angeles and bought himself a very tacky pink small rancho-style mansion and a Cadillac.
So, in 1996 Johnny Ramone was worth more than 1 million dollars making him literally a millionaire. Towards the end of "Commando" Johnny humorously points out the futility of having saved the money. It took Johnny around 18 years to save up the first million and only a a year or two after the band broke up to earn his second million from royalties, t shirt sales, etc. and the third million came even quicker. In typical Ramones humor he jokes that from a financial perspective breaking up was "the best thing" that ever happened to the band. The group estate continues to grow to monstrous proportions due to posthumous cd sales, tshirt sales, royalties, etc. and is managed by Johnny's wife (and former gf of Joey) Linda Ramone, Dee Dee's widow Barbara Zampini Ramone (a 16 year old girl he met on tour in Argentina and married in 1994), Mickey Leigh (Joey Ramone's brother) and John Caifero. If Johnny were alive today his net worth would be about 10 million dollars.
Dee Dee never saved any money as he spent the majority of his earnings immediately on drugs (heroin specifically) and alcohol. After leaving the Ramones he was so broke he had to beg the band to bail him out of jail on multiple occasions. In exchange for the bail money he sold songs he had written for his own group to the Ramones such as "Poison Heart" (which was a minor hit), "Strength to Endure", and "Main Man". The remaining Ramones received the royalties for these songs, per their agreement with Dee Dee who forfeited everything in exchange for the bail. Dee Dee's total value in cash, property, and his share of the Ramones estate was valued at approximately $500,000 at his time of death (heroin overdose) in 2002 so its safe to say he would probably be a millionaire today if he were alive and stopped spending his money on heroin.
Joey similarly did not save much because he spent a great deal on doctors, psychologists, and medication for his various ailments (lifelong struggles with OCD, an extremely depressed immune system, chronic illness, and ultimately lymphoma which killed him). I do know by the end of the band he had enough money left over to live independently without working but he did not survive long after the band's breakup. His brother Mickey Leigh and family manage his estate and probably reap a decent amount from Ramones royalties, tshirts, etc. as well as sales of Joey Ramone's solo album and royalties for his hit cover of "What A Wonderful World". Joey Ramone would be worth around 6 million dollars if he were alive today.
Marky Ramone did not save well during his career as a Ramone and was a known alcoholic. Marky was the original drummer for Richard Hell & The Voidoids but left the group after the Ramones offered to pay him more to replace Tommy in 1978. Initially Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee did not include Marky in t-shirt sales because he wasn't a founding member of the group. Marky was finally included in t-shirt sales after 4 years of drumming for the group. By 1983 Marky's alcoholism got the best of him and he was kicked out of the band for failing to show up at a concert. He returned clean and sober in 1987. Post-Ramones Marky managed to cash in doing a line of Ramones/punk inspired clothing with Tommy Hilfiger, landing a regular gig as a personality on Sirius XM radio, and selling his own signature brand of "Brooklyn pasta sauce". His net worth today is somewhere around 2 million.
Tommy Ramone was the most private of the Ramones and left the group early in 1978 due to his distaste for touring as well as personal conflict with his bandmates. Tommy received royalties for producing, drumming, and writing on "Ramones", "Leave Home", and "Rocket to Russia" as the group split the writing credits 4 ways evenly on those first three albums. When "Rocket to Russia" failed to meet sales expectations Tommy quit as the band's drummer. Tommy also received royalties as producer of the Ramones' "Road to Ruin", "Too Tough To Die", and for producing a plethora of other artists and groups. Tommy lived the longest of the original 4 members and as a result collected more royalties from the posthumous upswing in market demand for their music and tshirts compared to the rest of the Ramones. Before his death (bile duct cancer) Tommy Ramone was sitting pretty with a net worth of about 5 million.
CJ, Elvis, and Richie Ramone were never included in tshirt sales or royalties from past records which caused some animosity between the old and new members of the group. The three "lesser Ramones" were only paid the Ramones standard rate as detailed in Commando which was about $250 per week, food/transportation/hotel accommodations covered while on the road, along with a potential bonus of a $50-300 a week depending on the size of the shows they played, how many they played, and how many tickets they sold. Johnny had a detailed system for payment and considered his original bandmates to be his co-workers and investment partners in the group while their replacements (CJ, Elvis, Richie) were seen merely as employees of the band.
CJ receives a small amount of royalties from 1996's "Adios Amigos" having written "Scattergun" & "Got A Lot To Say", singing lead vocals on 4 tracks, and performing on the albums "Mondo Bizarro" & "Acid Eaters". Richie Ramone receives a small amount of royalties for having written 6 Ramones songs and performed on three albums "Too Tough To Die", "Animal Boy", and "Halfway to Sanity". In 2007 Richie sued the estate of the Ramones for $900,000 in royalties he claimed he was owed but lost the suit in 2008.
So, were the Ramones millionaires? Yes, some of them were/are. Johnny, Tommy, and Marky were all millionaires while living. Dee Dee & Joey didn't save as well nor lived long enough to see the enormous increase in album sales, tshirt sales, and royalties that the would follow their deaths. That having been said its safe to say Joey & Dee Dee would be millionaires today if they were still around. The rest of the Ramones (CJ Elvis and Richie) definitely were not and likely never will be.
I got my info from reading Johnny Ramone's autobiography "Commando", which is very detailed regarding Ramones finances, and watching "End of The Century: The Story of the Ramones" . Johnny Ramone's plan from the early get-go was to retire from the Ramones once he had saved up $1 million dollars. He is very specific about this plan and this exact number being his goal. He began saving money he wasn't already reinvesting into the group by the late gigs of 1974 and continued all the way until the time of 1992's Mondo Bizarro. By 1992 he claims to have saved his 1 million dollars. Johnny's bio also reveals he quite a Nazi when it came to saving so its safe to assume he was saving A LOT more than his problematic bandmates: Joey (alcoholic), Dee Dee (heroin addict), Marky (also alcoholic).
In spite of having saved up his target of $1 million by 1992 or so Johnny kept the band going for a few more years until 1996 with the release of Adios Amigos. The Ramones famously claimed they would continue onward as a band only if the album sold well, it didn't, and they did a series of extended farewell tours on Lollapalooza and in South America. Johnny retired to Los Angeles and bought himself a very tacky pink small rancho-style mansion and a Cadillac.
So, in 1996 Johnny Ramone was worth more than 1 million dollars making him literally a millionaire. Towards the end of "Commando" Johnny humorously points out the futility of having saved the money. It took Johnny around 18 years to save up the first million and only a a year or two after the band broke up to earn his second million from royalties, t shirt sales, etc. and the third million came even quicker. In typical Ramones humor he jokes that from a financial perspective breaking up was "the best thing" that ever happened to the band. The group estate continues to grow to monstrous proportions due to posthumous cd sales, tshirt sales, royalties, etc. and is managed by Johnny's wife (and former gf of Joey) Linda Ramone, Dee Dee's widow Barbara Zampini Ramone (a 16 year old girl he met on tour in Argentina and married in 1994), Mickey Leigh (Joey Ramone's brother) and John Caifero. If Johnny were alive today his net worth would be about 10 million dollars.
Dee Dee never saved any money as he spent the majority of his earnings immediately on drugs (heroin specifically) and alcohol. After leaving the Ramones he was so broke he had to beg the band to bail him out of jail on multiple occasions. In exchange for the bail money he sold songs he had written for his own group to the Ramones such as "Poison Heart" (which was a minor hit), "Strength to Endure", and "Main Man". The remaining Ramones received the royalties for these songs, per their agreement with Dee Dee who forfeited everything in exchange for the bail. Dee Dee's total value in cash, property, and his share of the Ramones estate was valued at approximately $500,000 at his time of death (heroin overdose) in 2002 so its safe to say he would probably be a millionaire today if he were alive and stopped spending his money on heroin.
Joey similarly did not save much because he spent a great deal on doctors, psychologists, and medication for his various ailments (lifelong struggles with OCD, an extremely depressed immune system, chronic illness, and ultimately lymphoma which killed him). I do know by the end of the band he had enough money left over to live independently without working but he did not survive long after the band's breakup. His brother Mickey Leigh and family manage his estate and probably reap a decent amount from Ramones royalties, tshirts, etc. as well as sales of Joey Ramone's solo album and royalties for his hit cover of "What A Wonderful World". Joey Ramone would be worth around 6 million dollars if he were alive today.
Marky Ramone did not save well during his career as a Ramone and was a known alcoholic. Marky was the original drummer for Richard Hell & The Voidoids but left the group after the Ramones offered to pay him more to replace Tommy in 1978. Initially Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee did not include Marky in t-shirt sales because he wasn't a founding member of the group. Marky was finally included in t-shirt sales after 4 years of drumming for the group. By 1983 Marky's alcoholism got the best of him and he was kicked out of the band for failing to show up at a concert. He returned clean and sober in 1987. Post-Ramones Marky managed to cash in doing a line of Ramones/punk inspired clothing with Tommy Hilfiger, landing a regular gig as a personality on Sirius XM radio, and selling his own signature brand of "Brooklyn pasta sauce". His net worth today is somewhere around 2 million.
Tommy Ramone was the most private of the Ramones and left the group early in 1978 due to his distaste for touring as well as personal conflict with his bandmates. Tommy received royalties for producing, drumming, and writing on "Ramones", "Leave Home", and "Rocket to Russia" as the group split the writing credits 4 ways evenly on those first three albums. When "Rocket to Russia" failed to meet sales expectations Tommy quit as the band's drummer. Tommy also received royalties as producer of the Ramones' "Road to Ruin", "Too Tough To Die", and for producing a plethora of other artists and groups. Tommy lived the longest of the original 4 members and as a result collected more royalties from the posthumous upswing in market demand for their music and tshirts compared to the rest of the Ramones. Before his death (bile duct cancer) Tommy Ramone was sitting pretty with a net worth of about 5 million.
CJ, Elvis, and Richie Ramone were never included in tshirt sales or royalties from past records which caused some animosity between the old and new members of the group. The three "lesser Ramones" were only paid the Ramones standard rate as detailed in Commando which was about $250 per week, food/transportation/hotel accommodations covered while on the road, along with a potential bonus of a $50-300 a week depending on the size of the shows they played, how many they played, and how many tickets they sold. Johnny had a detailed system for payment and considered his original bandmates to be his co-workers and investment partners in the group while their replacements (CJ, Elvis, Richie) were seen merely as employees of the band.
CJ receives a small amount of royalties from 1996's "Adios Amigos" having written "Scattergun" & "Got A Lot To Say", singing lead vocals on 4 tracks, and performing on the albums "Mondo Bizarro" & "Acid Eaters". Richie Ramone receives a small amount of royalties for having written 6 Ramones songs and performed on three albums "Too Tough To Die", "Animal Boy", and "Halfway to Sanity". In 2007 Richie sued the estate of the Ramones for $900,000 in royalties he claimed he was owed but lost the suit in 2008.
So, were the Ramones millionaires? Yes, some of them were/are. Johnny, Tommy, and Marky were all millionaires while living. Dee Dee & Joey didn't save as well nor lived long enough to see the enormous increase in album sales, tshirt sales, and royalties that the would follow their deaths. That having been said its safe to say Joey & Dee Dee would be millionaires today if they were still around. The rest of the Ramones (CJ Elvis and Richie) definitely were not and likely never will be.
Last edited by holdenmarchsvu; 05-05-16 at 04:29 PM.
05-05-16, 01:34 AM
#105
Re: Were THE RAMONES millionaires?
In the 80's most of the live concert footage was in front of thousands of people at arena venues. Also they had some songs that were big hits while they were a band.
05-05-16, 02:03 AM
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Re: Were THE RAMONES millionaires?
The Clash intentionally mired themselves in an issue which greatly effected their finances. In 1980 The Clash were ready to release their experimental triple album "Sandinista"! Their record company was insisting on pricing the album at 2-3x the cost of a normal record as it was a 3 disc triple record vinyl. The record company and The Clash came to agreement whereby The Clash paid their future royalties on merchandise, songwriting, and album sales to the record company in order to recoup the "loss" and keep "Sandinsta!" at the price of a regular LP. This move was very much in line with their socialist leanings and I respect The Clash greatly for this but they paid dearly for the next few years until the record company recouped its losses for selling the triple-album at a regular lp price. That having been said Joe Strummer definitely died a millionaire.
05-05-16, 02:28 AM
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Re: Were THE RAMONES millionaires?
Related to this topic living punks who are certified millionaires and the bands they played in (no particular order)
1. Henry Rollins (Black Flag)
2. Tim Armstrong, Mat Freeman (Rancid, Operation Ivy) Lars Frederickson (Rancid)
3. John "Rotten" Lydon (Sex Pistols, PiL), Steve Jones, Paul Cook (Sex Pistols)
4. Glen Danzig (Danzig, Samhain, Misfits)
5. Billy Idol (Generation X, solo career)
6. Mick Jones, Paul Simonon (The Clash)
7. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tre Cool (Green Day)
8. Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) Matt Skiba (Blink 182 / Alkaline Trio)
9. Deborah Harry (Blondie)
10. Mike Ness (Social Distortion)
11. Iggy Pop (The Stooges & Solo)
12. Dexter Holland (The Offspring)
13. Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance)
14. David Johansen (New York Dolls)
15. Michael "Fat Mike" Burkkett (NOFX)
I know a couple of these are "pop punk" or emo bands but there's just not a lot of old school punk millionaires alive, and a lot of the later wave 90s - early 2000s "pop punk" / emo bands made a lot more than the original punks did.
1. Henry Rollins (Black Flag)
2. Tim Armstrong, Mat Freeman (Rancid, Operation Ivy) Lars Frederickson (Rancid)
3. John "Rotten" Lydon (Sex Pistols, PiL), Steve Jones, Paul Cook (Sex Pistols)
4. Glen Danzig (Danzig, Samhain, Misfits)
5. Billy Idol (Generation X, solo career)
6. Mick Jones, Paul Simonon (The Clash)
7. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tre Cool (Green Day)
8. Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) Matt Skiba (Blink 182 / Alkaline Trio)
9. Deborah Harry (Blondie)
10. Mike Ness (Social Distortion)
11. Iggy Pop (The Stooges & Solo)
12. Dexter Holland (The Offspring)
13. Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance)
14. David Johansen (New York Dolls)
15. Michael "Fat Mike" Burkkett (NOFX)
I know a couple of these are "pop punk" or emo bands but there's just not a lot of old school punk millionaires alive, and a lot of the later wave 90s - early 2000s "pop punk" / emo bands made a lot more than the original punks did.
Last edited by holdenmarchsvu; 05-05-16 at 03:13 AM.
