A little love for Dee Dee

I wish I could always say it was you, Dee Dee. But I confess: You were not my first favorite Ramone.

When I first saw Rock 'n Roll High School in my teens, I was fascinated by Joey. The ultimate outsider, he looked exactly like I felt.

When I began playing guitar, it was Johnny. Nobody would ever look cooler or more dangerous with a guitar in his hands.

But eventually, reason settled in. How could you not be everyone's favorite Ramone? You named the band, you wrote my favorite songs, you were the most punk. Sid Vicious looked up to you.

You also had the cajones to turn from punk to rap--even though, as you later acknowledged, "I'm not a Negro."

Some of my favorite lyrics:

This is Dee Dee King on the mic
A hundred and fifty pounds of dynamite

She don't do the wash, don't do the cookin
She don't have to cuz she's good lookin'.

I want to ride the surf, at ninety miles an hour.
Hope you don't get, get, sour.

I was sitting there, thinking of a caper
But no new rhymes appeared on the paper.

And my personal favorite:

I seen it all, I had a ball
Someone should make a Dee Dee doll.

I'm poking fun, but in all honesty, I love Dee Dee's first solo album, Standing in the Spotlight. There's nothing quite like it. There's some true corn, but a few decent riffs and a ton of sincerity.

Take "Baby Doll." On one hand, it's overproduced schlock. On the other, Dee Dee's singing is heartfelt and genuine.



They really should make a Dee Dee doll. Oh wait, they did.