Gabba Gabba Hey: A Conversation With the Ramones

by Carl Cafarelli

Overview

For the first time, you can read the Ramones' comments about their own history in this intimate series of interviews with the legendary band.

The Ramones were arguably the single most influential rock 'n' roll act to emerge from that curious muddle of magic and mediocrity called the 1970s. Two of the group's founding members—singer Joey Ramone and bassist Dee Dee Ramone—didn't live to see the Ramones become icons of popular culture, hear their music in TV commercials, or experience the unlikely adoption of "Blitzkrieg Bop" as a sports anthem. Guitarist Johnny Ramone barely lived long enough to see it begin, and drummer Tommy Ramone's death in 2014 wrote finis to the mortal part of the Ramones' story. The legend endured. 

In 1994, as the Ramones celebrated their 20th anniversary, then-current members Joey, Johnny, drummer Marky, and bassist C. J. knew the group's Road To Ruin would soon approach its end. Given an opportunity to assess where they'd been and what was left to do, they agreed to a series of interviews discussing the entirety of the Ramones' story. 

This is that story: a career-spanning discussion of the Ramones' career, an intimate glimpse at how the Ramones viewed their work, their experiences, their impact, their legacy, their fans, and each other. It's a unique and fascinating peek into what it was like to be one of the few, the proud, the Ramones.

For the first time, you can read the Ramones' published comments about their own history, and much, much more than ever could have fit into a single magazine issue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781644283189
Publisher:	Rare Bird Books
Publication date:	05/09/2023
Pages:	126
Sales rank:	1,072,926
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Carl Cafarelli is the co-host (with Dana Bonn) of the long-running weekly broadcast and internet radio show This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. When he's not playing records and yelling into the microphone, Cafarelli has been writing about rock 'n' roll, pop music, and pop culture for nearly forty years. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame cited his 1994 interviews with the Ramones as “essential reading," and Not Lame Media referred to Cafarelli as “one of the world’s most respected power pop scholars.” Cafarelli has written for Goldmine, DISCoveries, The Syracuse New Times, The Buffalo News, Rhino Records, Warner Brothers Records, BMG Europe, and more. Cafarelli maintains his daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).  Cafarelli has written short fiction for AHOY Comics, and contributed to the books Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth, Shake Some Action, MusicHound Rock, and Lost In The Grooves. 

Cafarelli lives with his wife Brenda in the suburbs outside Syracuse, New York. Their daughter Meghan is Carl and Brenda's proudest accomplishment.

Editorial Reviews

Reading Carl Cafarelli’s Gabba Gabba Hey, I’m reminded of the excitement and uniqueness of this band that saved rock ’n’ roll. There was never anyone else like them, and all of the joy and bedlam and fire and dedication that fueled the Ramones can be found in these pages. All that’s missing is a Dee Dee-shouted “1-2-3-4” intro.”

—Jeff Tamarkin, Editor, BestClassicBands.com 

"Ramones books? I've just about read them all. If there's one I've been waiting for, it's Carl Cafarelli's ode to the band he calls 'the American Beatles'." These four 1994 interviews with Joey, Johnny, Marky and C.J. were conducted separately, but Cafarelli pieces them together as only a lifelong fan could to create an intimate oral history of the legendary Queens quartet up to that point. Gabba Gabba Hey!  is as short and sharp as any of the band's best songs. A must read for Ramones fans." 

—S.W. Lauden, Forbidden Beat: Perspectives on Punk Drumming

"A veritable treasure trove of valuable information and first-person reminiscences from America's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band, Carl Cafarelli's Gabba Gabba Hey is an engaging, fascinating and often humorous look at what made the Ramones tick, as recalled by the ones who made the magic happen."

 —John M. Borack, Contributing Editor, Goldmine Magazine

“Gabba Gabba Hey and tell Tchaikovsky the news, Carl Cafarelli’s new book on The Ramones is an insightful, intelligent and most of all rip roaring fun read as it beautifully chronicles the exploits of one of music’s most groundbreaking bands through an exhaustive series of candid conversations.  Don’t be a cretin, give it a read. You’d have to have had a lobotomy not to love it!”

—Ken Sharp

"A comprehensive and insightful look at one of the most important bands ever - from the Ramones themselves. Gabba Gabba Hey feels like sitting down with old friends. Comfortable, engaging, and hard to forget."

—Alex Segura, bestselling author of Archie Meets Ramones

From the Publisher