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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > December > 04 > Entry
“I Slept With Joey Ramone”
Book titles are supposed to get our attention. Some do. Others elicit reactions that are not uniformly positive. Let me give you an example. “I Slept With Joey Ramone” (Touchstone) by Mickey Leigh and Legs McNeil just came out this month. The book is being described as a “family memoir” about the lead singer for the seminal punk band The Ramones. The late Joey Ramone was their lead singer. Mickey Leigh is Joey’s brother.
Joey was born Jeffry Hyman on May 19, 1951 in Forest Hills, New York. He suffered from “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” for his entire life. This is his story (sort of). Joey is dead so his story is being recreated by others.
I have a Ramones story. I encountered Joey and the boys back in the early 1980’s. I was managing a record store in Des Moines. The store owner was also a music promoter. He brought the Ramones to town for a gig on the top floor of the Holiday Inn. That floor contained a restaurant that slowly revolved with a view of beautiful downtown Des Moines. A surreal place for a punk gig.
The Ramones came into my store for an autographing session that afternoon. The late Joey and the late Johnny and the other two were right on time. They had on their trademark leather jackets. Joey was wearing his round dark sunglasses. Their manager was also with them.
They didn’t say much. They gamely signed autographs. I stood behind the counter with the four of them. Joey hardly uttered a word. Johnny was the big talker. Not to the assembled crowd but he chatted good naturedly with me. It was a bit astonishing to learn when Johnny died that he was extremely conservative in his politics. A punker with a Republican outlook. Appearances can be just that.
My store carried a lot of unusual and rare music. Cassette only punk albums on obscure labels in limited editions. British imports. Bootlegs. That was the final heyday for record stores. Think High Fidelity. Music geeks hung out at our place. After the signing the band browsed and they were really excited about buying some music from me. They asked their manager if they could buy some stuff. Their manager said they could each have 5 dollars to spend. 20 dollars in total. The Ramones. I’m not making this up. They pooled their funds and bought a couple of things, then they left.
I can’t imagine who might have wanted to sleep with Joey Ramone. I don’t even want to think about that…
Vick Mickunas
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By John
January 7, 2011 2:02 AM | Link to this
I went to that signing. We drove 250 miles thinking that we would buy tickets at the store. Sold Out. You might have been the one that laughed at us? We brought in a road atlas for the band to sign because it was the only paper in the car. My friend showed Johnny how far we’d come and he said, “You came from where”? and we showed him again. He told someone to put us on the guest list. I almost cried. I was so dejected about the tickets and so elated the same day. One of the best days of my life and will always be. (no, John-I would not have laughed at you-sounds like my boss~vick)
By null
December 4, 2009 3:38 PM | Link to this
Maybe they can now make a real Ramones movie, like they hinted at on Entourage. Gabba gabba hey.