Product Description

So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star? Maybe you should listen to what Dee Dee Ramone has to say first. In Legend of a Rock Star the myth of the rock 'n' roll good life is destroyed once and for all. Touring is hell, and Dee Dee should know, after fifteen plus years with the legendary Ramones, he's back on the road with a new band and a new set of nightmares. Riddled with acerbic hilarity, Legend of a Rock Star offers a fantastic, unflinching look at the abysmal underbelly of the rock n' roll dream as Dee Dee and his new brothers tour Europe in a tiny cramped van and try their best not to kill one another. With shifty promoters out to suck him dry, and fans who mean well but just won't leave him alone, all Dee Dee can do is wrestle with his conscience and hope the drugs aren't bad. Written in a fierce chaotic prose uniquely his own, Dee Dee also offers a brutally honest, yet surprisingly touching account of the weeks leading up to and just after the death of friend and longtime bandmate Joey Ramone.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #341207 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

What becomes a legend most?
I've just read LEGEND OF A ROCK STAR, the Last Testament of Dee Dee Ramone. If Everett True's book nailed what it was like to be in the Ramones, this book nails what it was like to be an ex-Ramone. The first half of the book is a William Burroughs-esque diary of a low rent series of European solo gigs in which Dee Dee's imagination runs riot over his actual memory of the tour. However, the last section of the book is mostly factual account of the build up to the Ramones' induction into the Hall of Fame. Riveting stuff. Dee Dee's prose is poignant, depressing and funny in more or less equal measures. The final section of the book is a load of tributes from Tommy Ramone, Arturo Vega, Daniel Rey etc. etc.