Joey Ramone ✝

Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician and singer-songwriter, lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone\'s image, voice, and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.\n', ' Jeffrey Ross Hyman was born on May 19, 1951, in Queens, New York to a Jewish family. His parents were Charlotte (née Mandell) and Noel Hyman. \n', 'The family lived in Forest Hills, Queens, New York \n', 'where Hyman and his future Ramones bandmates attended Forest Hills High School. Though happy, Hyman was something of an outcast, diagnosed at 18 with obsessive–compulsive disorder. He grew up with his brother Mickey Leigh. His mother, Charlotte Lesher, divorced her first husband, Noel Hyman. She married a second time but was widowed by a car accident while she was on vacation. At birth, Joey was born with a parasitic twin, which was a malformed Siamese twin growing out of his back. The twin was incomplete and thus it was surgically removed.\n', ' Hyman was a fan of the Beatles, the Who, David Bowie, and the Stooges among other bands, particularly oldies and the Phil Spector-produced "girl groups". His idol was Pete Townshend of the Who, with whom he shared a birthday. Hyman took up the drums at 13, and played them throughout his teen years before picking up an acoustic guitar at age 17.\n', '