The Ramones played 2,263 concerts over the span of 22 years, with a cool 14 full-length albums under their belts as well. That kind of performance can take a toll on just four people, which is why the Ramones often brought in additional help to shoulder the workload. They weren’t always forthcoming with their members, however, so here are 50 people that you never knew were in the Ramones.
Bill Clinton (Billy Ramone)
Then presidential candidate Bill Clinton famously appeared with his saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1992 to gain more votes among young people. Nothing excited the youth in the early ’90s like a saxophone. Most people also forget that the Ramones were Arsenio’s musical guest that night, and Clinton was tasked with playing the sax solo to “Do You Remember Rock n’ Roll Radio?” They were so impressed he toured with them during the rest of the primary season.
Hulk Hogan (Hulk Ramone)
Hulk Hogan’s claims to have auditioned for Metallica after Cliff Burton died are complete bullshit, like everything that comes out of the Hulkster’s mouth. Hogan did actually leave the WWF and play with the Ramones for two years in the early ’90s. He was kicked out for not knowing the first thing about playing guitar, he was so upset that he formed Hulk Hogan & The Wrestling Boot Band to compete with the Ramones.
Jerry Only (Gerald Ramone)
Jerry Only from the Misfits played with the Ramones for two months in 1995. However, he annoyed the band by constantly trying to sell them Misfits-branded merchandise. The Ramones decided to retire rather than risk any more of Only’s sales pitches. Because of this, Jerry finally went ahead with the Misfits reunion he had been threatening for years.
Howard Stern (Howie Ramone)
Many Ramones fans know that Joey Ramone suffered from an extreme bout of OCD. On April 8, 1997, Ramone got stuck counting steps backstage moments before he was to perform. In a pinch, Johnny Ramone noticed radio personality and Joey Ramone doppelganger Howard Stern in the audience. Stern was quickly given a set list and sent onstage to perform. To their credit, nobody in the crowd that night seemed to notice the switch had occurred Stern continued to fill in for Joey at least a dozen more times.
Don Mattingly (Donny Ramone)
Noted baseball fan Johnny Ramone invited The New York Yankees’ Don Mattingly to play drums for the Ramones in 1987. Surprisingly enough, Mattingly knocked it out of the park. However, Ramones management forced him to decide between his baseball and rock n’ roll careers, and Mattingly ultimately chose to return to baseball for much more money than the Ramones could have paid him in his wildest dreams.
Judy Funnie (Judy Ramone)
In 1991 Doug Funnie won tickets to see his favorite band, the Beets. Later that year, Doug’s older sister Judy entered a contest to see the Ramones, and against all odds she won her contest as well. Funnie arrived early and not only caught the band’s soundcheck, but she was also asked to provide vocal levels, as Ramones singer Joey Ramone was distracted by a dog outside that had a particularly fluffy tail. She ended up recording an unreleased EP with the band.
John McEnroe (Tennis Ramone)
Nobody embodied ’70s and ’80s New Yorker rage quite like John McEnroe, which is why the Ramones enlisted his help to bring an edge to their sound for 1984’s “Too Tough to Die.” There’s no question that McEnroe ratcheted up the anger, though he was ejected from the studio for constantly arguing with the band over every single minuscule point.
Joan Jett (Joan Ramone)
Joan Jett played with the Ramones for six months during their early days at CBGBs. That said, both Jett and the Ramones were strung out of their minds at the time and had no idea what was going on. Neither Jett nor the surviving members of the Ramones remember her being in the band, despite the existence of dozens of photos from the time period.
The Huntingtons
Every Ramones fan knows that the Huntingtons at their best are easily as good as the Ramones at their worst. Hell, even the Ramones knew it. That’s why they hired the Huntingtons to put on some wigs and perform as the Ramones for most of 1995, so the real Ramones could take a load off and just sit down for a while.
Janet Jackson (Janet Ramone)
Janet Jackson had always looked up to her brothers in the Jackson 5: Michael, Jackie, Marlon, Randy, and Tito Jackson. So when she heard about another band of brothers called the Ramones she was interested, to say the least. Jackson joined the Ramones for a single show in 1986, however she quit the band after finding out that the Ramones weren’t another family band, but rather a bunch of weirdos from Queens.
Kate Moss (Katie Ramone)
Kate Moss struck up a friendship with Dee Dee Ramone in the early ’90s through the New York drug scene. The two were fast friends based on their love of practical jokes, and in 1993 Moss used her waifish figure to disguise herself as Joey Ramone’s microphone stand. It wasn’t until the last song that Moss revealed herself, at which point the Ramones all had a hearty laugh about the hilarious prank that had been pulled, this led to her being a member of the band for three full years.
George Costanza (Georgie Ramone)
Johnny Ramone was a devoted fanatic of the New York Yankees, and in 1995 spotted in the audience the Yankees’ Assistant to the Travelling Secretary, George Costanza. Ramone pulled Costanza up on stage to sing “The Blitzkrieg Bop,” however Costanza seemed panicked by everyone in the crowd looking at him. They hadn’t even made it to the first chorus before Costanza screamed “George is getting upset!” and ran off stage.
Dolly Parton (Dolly Ramone)
Dolly Parton’s decades and decades of charitable work are both well-known and highly commendable. She was scheduled to perform at a benefit for New York musicians with severe head injuries. The Ramones were also slated to play the bill, and Parton actually joined them onstage to sing a few songs. It was later revealed that Dolly Parton believed the Ramones were victims of severe head injuries, due to their musical prowess, and considered the performance to be yet another in a long line of charitable gestures.
Harrison Ford (Harry Ramone)
Despite the fact that by 1980 Harrison Ford was one of the biggest movie stars in the world, his movie career paled in comparison to his weed-dealing career. It still does, too. So the Ramones called up Ford to supply them with some swag-ass babbage while they recorded “End of the Century” in L.A. However, they didn’t have any money, so they let him record backing vocals on “Chinese Rock” and agreed to sign over royalties for the song to Ford as payment.
Jerrica “Jem” Benton (Jemmy Ramone)
Jem from the Holograms gave a hard pitch to the Ramones as to why she should play backup guitar for them. The Ramones agreed to bring her on board, even though it seemed there were ulterior motives at play. Those motives would reveal themselves one Halloween show with the Misfits, as Jem touched her earring and a dozen holograms appeared and beat the shit out of the Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only. Little did they know they had roughed up the wrong Misfits.
Speak & Spell (Toy Ramone)
Ramones management purchased a speak & spell in the hopes of getting the band to write songs that were more in-depth than simply stating what they do and don’t wanna do. Unfortunately learning new vocabulary got Dee Dee all worked up, and he left the Ramones to begin exploring the English language through his rapper alter ego: Dee Dee King.
Audrey Horne (Auddie Ramone)
Like everyone in 1990, Joey Ramone fell head over heels for Twin Peaks, Washington’s own Audrey Horne. Joey tried everything to win her affection, including letting her record backing vocals for a song he was working on at the time. Eventually Audrey confessed that she was in love with an F.B.I. agent that was in town investigating a murder, thus breaking the heart of not only Joey Ramone, but also the heart of an entire nation that couldn’t stop thinking about her.