Dee Dee Ramone
| Dee Dee Ramone | |
|---|---|
Dee Dee Ramone performing live with the Ramones in 1977
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Douglas Glenn Colvin |
| Also known as | Dee Dee King |
| Born |
September 18, 1951 Fort Lee, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 5, 2002 (aged 50) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Punk rock, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1966–2002 |
| Labels | Sire, Wanker, World Service, Other People's Music, Corazong |
| Associated acts | Ramones, GG Allin, Nina Hagen, Furious George, los Gattos, Paul Kostabi, Christian Martucci, Stefan Adika |
| Website | deedeeramone |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Precision Bass | |
Douglas Glenn Colvin (September 18, 1951 – June 5, 2002), known professionally as Dee Dee Ramone, was a German-American musician, singer and songwriter best known as founding member, songwriter, bassist and occasional lead vocalist for the punk rock band the Ramones.
Though nearly all of the Ramones' songs were credited equally to all the band members, Dee Dee was the band's most prolific lyricist and composer, writing many of their best-known songs, such as "53rd & 3rd", "Commando", "Wart Hog", "Rockaway Beach", and "Poison Heart". He was initially the band's lead vocalist, though his (then) inability to sing and play bass at the same time resulted in original drummer Joey Ramone taking over the lead vocalist duties (however, he still sang lead vocals in the band on occasion). Dee Dee was the band's bassist and songwriter from 1974 until 1989, when he left to pursue a short-lived career in hip hop music under the name Dee Dee King. He soon returned to his punk roots and released three solo albums featuring brand-new songs, many of which were later recorded by the Ramones. He toured the world playing his new songs, Ramones songs and some old favorites in small clubs, and continued to write songs for the Ramones until 1996, when the band officially retired.
Dee Dee struggled with drug addiction for much of his life, particularly heroin. He began using drugs as a teenager and continued to use for the majority of his adult life. He appeared clean in the early 1990s but began using heroin again sometime later. He died from a heroin overdose on June 5, 2002.
Douglas Glenn Colvin was born on September 18, 1951, in Fort Lee, Virginia, USA, he was the son of an American soldier and a German woman. As an infant, his family relocated to Berlin, Germany, due to his father's military service. His father's military career also required the family to relocate frequently. These frequent moves caused Douglas to have a lonely childhood with few real friends. His parents separated during his early teens, and he remained in Berlin until the age of 15, when he, along with his mother and sister Beverley, moved to Forest Hills, New York, in order to escape Dee Dee's alcoholic father. There he met John Cummings and Thomas Erdelyi (later dubbed Johnny and Tommy Ramone), then playing in a band called the Tangerine Puppets, named after a Donovan song.
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