(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Sun 25 January 2026 19:00, UK
Not every band needs to sell as many million records as The Beatles or Pink Floyd in order to have a cultural impact that changes music permanently.
For example, The Velvet Underground never topped the charts or sold out huge venues during their initial tenure, but everybody who bought The Velvet Underground & Nico felt compelled to start a band of their own. Even though it took until after they split for them to get the credit they deserved, they are largely responsible for creating indie music as we know it today.
Similarly, the Ramones are another band that were trailblazing figures at the forefront of the punk movement in the United States. However, due to the nature of the music they made, the Ramones were always destined to be a countercultural force rather than fully initiated members of the mainstream.
Nevertheless, their influence is impossible to avoid, and few are more grateful for their gift to the world of music than Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, who holds the Ramones in the highest possible regard.
They were crucial in his development as an artist during his teenage years. At this stage, Vedder was drawn to the simplicity of their songs, which made him believe that he could follow in their footsteps despite not yet being technically proficient. It also meant that he could play along to their songs on his guitar in his bedroom, which was a landmark event in his life.
Eddie Vedder in the middle of a song. (Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Not only did they inspire Vedder, but a whole cohort of people his age across the globe saw the Ramones and felt they could emulate their anarchic brand of punk. While they aren’t the Eagles in terms of popularity, they touched the souls of many, leading to the development of a broader, grassroots movement.
Sadly for Vedder, he missed the boat to become involved with the punk scene. However, without the punk movement, it’s unlikely grunge, which contained the same DIY ethos, would ever have prospered in the same way.
However, much to the delight of his angst-filled pubescent self, Vedder became close friends with Johnny Ramone, who personally asked the Pearl Jam frontman to induct his band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
Typically, those inducting artists tend to keep their message brief and try their best not to divert attention from the act being celebrated. However, due to Vedder’s love of the Ramones, this was an impossible task, and he took 17 minutes to pay his respects to the punk pioneers.
At one stage, he told the crowd: “They were armed with two-minute songs that they rattled off like machinegun fire, and it was enough to change the Earth’s revolution. Now it’s Disney kids singing songs written by old men and being marketed to six and seven-year-olds, so some kind of change might have to happen again soon.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony would sadly mark one of Johnny Ramone’s final acts. The rock icon lost his life in 2004 following a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. Vedder attended the guitarist’s funeral, which he found profoundly moving, inspiring him to write the Pearl Jam track ‘Life Wasted.’
He later told Rolling Stone of his tribute to Ramone: “When you leave that funeral, that drive is as important as any single stretch of road you’ll travel on. You’ve got a renewed appreciation for life. And I think that feeling can last through the day, through the week, but then things start getting back to normal, and you start taking this living and breathing and eating thing for granted.”
Vedder added: “I think that song is there to remind you, ‘This is that feeling’….The truth is—I’m a little sensitive, and this is a close, personal relationship. I’ll just say it. Fuck it. Right up front. Half the record is based on the loss of the guy who turned out to be the best friend I ever had on the planet. And that was Johnny Ramone.”
Not only were the Ramones one of the bands that started it all for Vedder in his bedroom, but they became close associates. As much as people claim that you should never meet your heroes, this was an exceptional to the rule, and Vedder couldn’t have been more gracious to have, albeit briefly, Johnny Ramone in his life.
Related Topics
