The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in Queens, in 1974.  The three founding band members were Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, and Dee Dee Ramone.  They Ramones are often cited as the first punk rock group.  Despite achieving only limited commercial success, the band was a major influence on the punk rock movement both in the United States and the United Kingdom.  All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname "Ramone", though none of them were related.

The Ramones' managed to crystallize the musical ideals of the genre by dissolving rock & roll down to its bare essentials - four chords, catchy melody endorsed by seductively fatuous lyrics. While relying on the sound rooted deeply in the early ‘60s that belonged to pre-Beatles mixture of rock & roll and pop, the Ramones considerably speeded up the tempo and thus created a revolutionary sound.