'Poisoned Heart - I Married Dee Dee Ramone (The Ramones Years)'
by Vera Ramone King
Often
regarded as the first punk-rock group ever, named one of Rolling Stone
magazine’s Top 50 Bands of All Time, with all members having been inducted
into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, The Ramones are nothing if not legendary.
“Waking up the neighbors” and setting the U.S. music scene on fire in
the 1970s and through the ’80s, The Ramones’ story is tragic and raw,
sentiments that could also describe the band’s songwriter, bass player,
and unsung genius, Dee Dee. A wild ride into the heart and soul of New
York City, Poisoned Heart is Vera Ramones King’s last testament to her
former husband, who shocked the world when he died in 2002 of a drug overdose
despite having been clean for years.
Dee Dee defined the punk-rock lifestyle. He was a rash, often violent,
heroin addict, and no one better understood his twisted mentality, or
insanity, than faithful wife Vera. But Vera, herself a less destructive
“Nancy” to Dee Dee’s “Sid,” also came to know the Dee Dee that music fans
worldwide held near and dear: a generous, loving man who had a soft-spot
for bums, who grew up in the tough streets of Queens, who never stopped
working, writing, and performing, who often treated his wife like a Punk
Rock Princess, and whose greatest joy was the look on his fans’ faces
as he played them a song.
For true fans of The Ramones, those who remember the 1970s as a time of
music innovation and inspired creativity, groupies, wannabes, and true
music-lovers everywhere, Poisoned Heart is destined to become a literary—and
rock—classic.
(With more than 50 never-before-published photos of The Ramones)
- Amazon.com Description