About CJ Ramone

C.J. Ramone (born Christopher Joseph Ward on October 8, 1965) is an American punk and rock n roll musician best known for being the bassist for the punk rock band Ramones from 1989 to 1996. He also served as a songwriter for the group and helped keep it going before its demise. Since then, he's had a solo career in the same style while also working with multiple other punk artists and helping to archive as well as promote the Ramones' band history. His hometown is Queens, New York. Ward replaced original band-member Dee Dee Ramone, though Dee Dee continued to write songs for the group. C.J. sang many well-known Ramones songs, and gave the band a young image as well as major shot in the arm musically. He was an ex-Marine and Ramones fan before he joined the band, being a Dee Dee Ramone fan in particular. Ward ended up playing with Dee Dee in a band called The Ramainz (also known as The Remains), which featured the two men alongside Marky Ramone and Barbara Zampini (Dee Dee's wife, also called "Barbara Ramone"). He has also played with the punk groups Los Gusanos and Bad Chopper. When C.J. joined, he became a breath of fresh air into a band which, by the mid-80s, had slowed down and lost much of their onstage energy and presence. Johnny Ramone remarked he was happy to see Dee Dee replaced by the younger C.J. because, by the time of his leaving the group, Dee Dee had become "annoying" and had troubles with drug use (even doing things such as showing up to a gig dressed as a skinhead). The former Ramones bassist, songwriter, and sometime singer would end up dying of a drug overdose several years later. Johnny also stated he knew immediately when C.J. auditioned that he was right, commenting that he "had the right look". When the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the original Ramones drummer, Tommy Ramone, credited C.J. with "keeping the band young". CJ also had the idea for the band to cover Tom Waits' "I Don't Want to Grow up" on the album ¡Adios Amigos!, with the band's version of the tune becoming a fan favorite among their collection of songs. C.J. was the youngest member of the group, by nine years. His first show with the guys was on September 30, 1989, in Leicester, England, and he played with the band until they retired on August 6, 1996. He married to Ramone's niece, Chessa, with whom he has two children.