Durango 95 (song)

Last updated
"Durango 95"
Song by The Ramones
from the album Too Tough to Die
ReleasedOctober 1984
RecordedJuly 1984
Genre Punk rock
Length0:55
Label Sire
Composer(s) Johnny Ramone
Producer(s) Tommy Ramone, Ed Stasium

"Durango 95" is a short instrumental by the punk rock band The Ramones. It is the fourth track on their eighth studio album Too Tough to Die . The song is a cultural reference to the car driven by Malcolm McDowell's character in the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange . [1] The cover of the Too Tough to Die LP recalled a scene in the film. The track is also the only instrumental piece that the band ever recorded.

Contents

Composition

"Durango 95" is a three-chord song with the bass playing the root notes. The drum style is quite complicated for a punk rock song due to the cymbal crashes and 7/4 time signature used in the tune's second section. The song is the shortest of all of the album's tracks. It was made an instrumental essentially to fulfill the cultural reference that Johnny Ramone wanted to give it. [2]

Live shows

After releasing Too Tough To Die, the Ramones started most of their shows with "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" theme song in a slow crescendo. At its climax, they would start playing "Durango 95". This is shown in the Loco Live , Greatest Hits Live and We're Outta Here! live albums, released respectively in 1991, in 1996 and in 1997. [3] [4] "Durango 95" was replaced as a set opener only occasionally in the late '80s with a nearly instrumental version of "Eat That Rat".[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Ramone</span> American punk rock singer (1951–2001)

Jeffrey Ross Hyman, known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the Ramones made him a countercultural icon. He, along with the guitarist Johnny Ramone, are the only two original members who stayed in the band until the disbandment in 1996.

<i>Ramones</i> (album) 1976 studio album by the Ramones

Ramones is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on April 23, 1976, by Sire Records. After Hit Parader editor Lisa Robinson saw the band at a gig in New York City, she wrote about them in an article and contacted Danny Fields, insisting that he be their manager. Fields agreed and convinced Craig Leon to produce Ramones, and the band recorded a demo for prospective record labels. Leon persuaded Sire president Seymour Stein to listen to the band perform, and he later offered the band a recording contract. The Ramones began recording in January 1976, needing only seven days and $6,400 to record the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marky Ramone</span> American drummer (born 1952)

Marc Steven Bell is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tommy Ramone in the Ramones in 1978, and went by the stage name Marky Ramone from then on. He has also played drums for other punk rock and heavy metal bands, including his own band Marky Ramone and the Intruders. He continues to keep the Ramones legacy alive around the world with his band Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg.

<i>Leave Home</i> 1977 studio album by the Ramones

Leave Home is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. Songs on the album were written immediately after the band's first album's writing process, which demonstrated the band's progression. The album had a higher production value than their debut Ramones and featured faster tempos. The front photo was taken by Moshe Brakha and the back cover, which would become the band's logo, was designed by Arturo Vega. The album spawned three singles, but only one succeeded in charting. It was also promoted with several tour dates in the United States and Europe.

<i>Halfway to Sanity</i> 1987 studio album by the Ramones

Halfway to Sanity is the 10th studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and their last album to feature drummer Richie Ramone. It was produced by Daniel Rey and released on September 15, 1987, by Sire Records. Recording sessions began that April at Intergalactic Studios in New York City, with the band recording instruments before vocals in order to learn songs more quickly. It fared well on charts outside the United States, but peaked at No. 172 on the Billboard 200.

<i>Too Tough to Die</i> 1984 studio album by the Ramones

Too Tough to Die is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on October 1, 1984, and is the first Ramones record to feature Richie Ramone on drums. With ex-member Tommy Ramone producing, the recording process was similar to that of the band's 1976 self-titled debut album. Likewise, the record's style—both lyrically and compositionally—saw the band returning to their roots. The photograph on the album cover, which features silhouettes of the band members, resulted from a "lucky accident" after photographer George DuBose's camera malfunctioned.

<i>Brain Drain</i> (album) 1989 studio album by the Ramones

Brain Drain is the eleventh studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on May 23, 1989. It is the last Ramones release to feature bassist/songwriter/vocalist Dee Dee Ramone, the first to feature Marky Ramone since his initial firing from the band after 1983's Subterranean Jungle and the band's last studio album on Sire Records. It ends with their unlikely seasonal song "Merry Christmas ".

<i>Loco Live</i> 1991 live album by Ramones

Loco Live is the second live album by American punk band the Ramones.

<i>Were a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones</i> 2003 compilation album by Various Artists

We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones is a 2003 tribute album to the Ramones by various artists. It started when Johnny Ramone was presented with the idea of a tribute album and was asked if he wanted to participate, to which he agreed, as long as he would have full control over the project. He was able to get Rob Zombie as a co-producer, and call upon high profile bands to participate. Rob Zombie also did the cover artwork, and Stephen King, a Ramones fan, wrote the liner notes.

<i>Were Outta Here!</i> 1997 live album by Ramones

We're Outta Here! is the fourth live album by the American punk band the Ramones. It was released on November 18, 1997, through Eagle Rock Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheena Is a Punk Rocker</span> 1977 song by Ramones

"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released in 1977 through Sire Records. Written by front man and lead vocalist Joey Ramone it appears on the band's third studio album Rocket to Russia (1977). The song is well known for its early 1960s influence of surf rock and bubblegum pop that influenced Joey; it has since remained one of the band's most popular songs.

<i>The Chrysalis Years</i> 2002 compilation album by Ramones

The Chrysalis Years is a three-disc compilation that includes all five of the Ramones albums on Chrysalis Records : Brain Drain, Mondo Bizarro, Acid Eaters, ¡Adios Amigos! and Loco Live. It was released in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramones discography</span> Discography of American punk rock band

The Ramones were an American punk rock band from New York City. Their discography consists of fourteen studio albums, ten live albums, sixteen compilation albums, seventy-one singles, thirty-two music videos and ten films. The band formed in early 1974, and upon signing with Seymour Stein of Sire Records, the Ramones released their self-titled debut album on April 23, 1976. Despite the recording process only taking a week and being on a budget of $6,400, the album has since become their most accoladed and iconic release. 1977's Leave Home was the band's follow up album, released less than a year later, also through Sire. While it was the first album to chart in the United Kingdom, it did not chart as well in the United States as Ramones, nor their third record, Rocket to Russia, which was released in late 1977. Road to Ruin was the band's fourth studio album and their first to feature a change in the band member line-up, with drummer Marky Ramone replacing Tommy Ramone.

"R.A.M.O.N.E.S." is a song first recorded by the British rock band Motörhead on their 1991 album 1916 as a tribute to their friends and contemporaries, the Ramones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Beauvoir</span> American musician

Jean Beauvoir is an American singer, bassist, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and entertainment executive. He came to prominence in the early 1980s with the punk group the Plasmatics and went on to work with Little Steven, Kiss, the Ramones and as a solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manic Hispanic</span>

Manic Hispanic is an American Chicano punk rock band from Orange County and Los Angeles, California, United States. They are a comedy act that plays cover versions of punk rock "standards" by slightly renaming songs and adjusting lyrics with humorous references to Chicano culture. The band's members are all Mexican and use stage names further marking the Mexican/Chicano image of the band. Manic Hispanic is a supergroup made up of former and/or current members of The Adolescents, The Grabbers, Punk Rock Karaoke, The X-Members, 22 Jacks, Final Conflict, Agent Orange, Death by Stereo and The Cadillac Tramps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramones</span> American punk rock band

The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States, the Ramones are often cited as the first true punk band. Though achieving little commercial success, the band is seen today as highly influential in punk culture.

<i>Essential</i> (Ramones album) 2007 compilation album by Ramones

Essential is a compilation album by the punk rock band the Ramones. It was released on July 9, 2007 by Chrysalis. The record is made up of tracks from the group's five albums on the imprint: Brain Drain, Mondo Bizarro, Acid Eaters, ¡Adios Amigos!, and Loco Live.

Between 1993 and 2000, a series of Ramones covers albums were released by Selfless Records, an independent record label based in Garland, Texas specializing in punk rock, on which bands influenced by seminal punk group the Ramones performed cover versions of entire Ramones albums. Under the Selfless label, Screeching Weasel, the Queers, and the Vindictives respectively covered the first three Ramones albums: Ramones (1976), Rocket to Russia (1977), and Leave Home (1977). Selfless then became Clearview Records and continued the series, with Boris the Sprinkler, the Parasites, the Mr. T Experience, the Beatnik Termites, and the McRackins respectively covering End of the Century (1980), It's Alive (1979), Road to Ruin (1978), Pleasant Dreams (1981), and Too Tough to Die (1984).

References