Musical style

The Ramones' minimalist, loud, fast musical style was influenced by pop music that the band members grew up listening to in the 1950s and 1960s, such as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Ronettes, The Rolling Stones as well as what are now known as proto-punk bands like The Stooges and the New York Dolls.^[32][33][34] It was also a reaction against the bombastic, complex, and heavily produced pop and rock music -- ranging from Led Zeppelin to progressive rock, as well as the smooth sounds of Los Angeles studio musicians later termed yacht rock -- which dominated the charts in the 1970s. The Ramones were considered leaders in the punk rock scene,^[1] although others considered them power pop^[35] or pop punk.^[36][13] This Sound also influenced the sound in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene with metal bands such as Motörhead, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. The Ramones' later 1980s career also veered into hardcore punk territory, integrated into albums like Too Tough to Die and Halfway to Sanity.

On stage, the band adopted a focused approach directly intended to increase the audience's concert experience. Johnny's instructions to C.J. when preparing for his first live performances with the group were to play facing the audience, to stand with the bass slung low between spread legs, and to walk forward to the front of stage at the same time as he did. Johnny Ramone was not a fan of guitarists who performed facing their drummer, amplifier or other band members.^[37]

Due to a similar musical style, many bands were claimed to be "an answer to the Ramones" by critics in the late 1970s. There were the "English answer" (The Lurkers), the "Irish answer" (The Undertones),^[38] the "Canadian answer" (Teenage Head), and the "Mexican answer" (The Zeros).