Sad news from the punk world. Last Friday, Tommy Erdélyi, better known as Tommy Ramone, died in hospice after a bout with bile duct cancer. Tommy was not supposed to be a member of America's greatest punk group, but the band's manager was drafted behind the drum kit when they recorded their landmark debut LP. Amazing to think Tommy was not always intended to beat the beat for the band considering how incredibly he maintained their super-charged tempos. That cat had stamina.
Sadly, Tommy was the last original Ramone. Joey died of lymphoma in 2001, we lost Dee Dee to an overdose the following year, and Johnny died of prostate cancer in 2004.
