Chinese Rocks - Music
Chinese Rocks by Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders
Artist Biography For Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders Born John Anthony Genzale Jr July 15 1952 - April 23 1991 Was A Rock And Roll Guitarist And Singer First With The New York Dolls The Proto-Punk Glam Rockers Of The Early '70s. During The Late '70s He Was A Familiar Figure On The New York Punk Scene Both With The Heartbreakers And As A Solo Artist. His Screeching Penetrating Guitar Sound Is Distinctive And Highly Influential In Punk Rock Music. Thunders Tangled With The Demons Of Fame And Drug Addiction Until His Death On April 23 1991 Of A Methadone Overdose. Some Suspect Foul Play. The Theory Is That Two Hustlers Met Thunders In A Bar And They Hung Out In His Room Where They Proceeded To Kill Thunders Steal His Belongings And Spike Him With Methadone To Make It Seem Like An Overdose. This Theory Arose When Thunders' Sister Mariann Requested To See The Police Report And Half Of The Report Was Missing. The Autopsy Also Showed No Evidence Of Alcohol In His System Which Is Perplexing Because Many Witnesses Say That They Saw Thunders Drinking With The Two Men The Night Before He Was Killed. Johnny Thunders Was 38.
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Chinese Rocks
Johnny-Thunders - Have Faith
"Chinese Rocks" Or "Chinese Rock" Is A Song Written In 1975 By New York City Punk Rock Musicians Richard Hell And Dee Dee Ramone Mostly Composed By The Latter. Openly Discussing Heroin Addiction Based On Real-Life Experiences "Chinese Rock" Was First Recorded By Hell's Former Band The Heartbreakers And Later By Dee Dee's Band The Ramones. Hell And Dee Dee Were In Agreement That The Song Was Mainly Written By Dee Dee. "The Reason I Wrote That Song Was Out Of Spite For Richard Hell Because He Told Me He Was Going To Write A Song Better Than Lou Reed's "Heroin" So I Went Home And Wrote 'Chinese Rocks' Dee Dee Is Quoted In Please Kill Me The Uncensored Oral History Of Punk. "I Wrote It By Myself In Debbie Harry's Apartment On First Avenue And First Street." According To Dee Dee The Song Was "about Jerry Nolan Of The Heartbreakers Calling Me Up To Come Over And Go Cop" Heroin A Form Of Which Was Known In Those Days As Chinese Rocks. "The Line 'My Girlfriend's Crying In The Shower Stall' Was About Connie And The Shower Was At Arturo Vega's Loft " Where Dee Dee His Girlfriend Connie And Joey Ramone All Lived At One Point. Dee Dee Wanted To Record The Song With The Ramones But Bandmate Johnny Ramone Vetoed It Claiming That The Song Was Too Obviously Drug-Related. Dee Dee Then Took It To Richard Hell Also With The Heartbreakers At The Time. "Dee Dee Called Me One Day And Said 'I Wrote A Song That The Ramones Won't Do '" Hell Recalled. "He Said 'It's Not Finished. How About I Come Over And Show It To You And We Can Finish It If You Like It?'" According To Hell "What Happened Is Really Clear And The Songwriting Credits Can All Be Checked At BMI. The Song Is By Me And Dee Dee But Dee Dee Did 75 Percent Of It. I Mean All I Did Was Write Two Verses Out Of Three. Dee Dee Wrote The Music The Concept Was His. He's Basically Responsible For It. But He Brought Me The Song He Didn't Even Know Johnny And Jerry But We Were Friends And He Thought The Band Was Great. And When The Ramones Didn't Want To Do The Song He Said 'Look I've Written One Verse Of This Song With The Chorus And It's About Heroin How About You Write The Rest Of It And It's Yours?'"And That's What He Did." Dee Dee Similarly Recalled "Richard Hell Put That Line In So I Gave Him Some Credit."
The Heartbreakers There Were Differing Recollections About How The Song Became Part Of The Heartbreakers' Repertoire. Richard Hell Said "I Brought It To The Next Rehearsal Exactly As It Was Done By The Heartbreakers For All Those Years. I Would Sing It Because It Was A Song I Brought In." Dee Dee On The Other Hand Wrote In His Memoir "When Jerry Was Over At My Place One Day We Did Some Dope And Then I Played Him My Song And He Took It With Him To A Heartbreakers' Rehearsal." In Either Case The Song Became One Of The Band's Most Popular Songs. As Hell States "After I Left The Heartbreakers They Kept Playing 'Chinese Rocks' And Then Ended Up Recording It" For The Band's 1977 Debut Album L.A.M.F.. "And They Put All Of Their Names On It Though Nothing Had Changed About The Song--They Just Added Their Names To It. Johnny Thunders... Had Nothing To Do With 'Chinese Rocks' At All." All Vinyl Pressings L.A.M.F. Including The 1984 L.A.M.F. Revisited Album Continued To Credit The Song Writers As Thunders Heartbreakers' Drummer Jerry Nolan As Well As Ramone And Hell. It Was Only After The Deaths Of Thunders And Nolan That The Credit Was Changed. However Both The 1994 And 2002 CD Reissues Of L.A.M.F. Now Name The Three Ramones As The Writers Joey Johnny Ramone And Dee Dee—but Not Hell. "The Credits Are False " Dee Dee Wrote In 1997. "Johnny Thunders Ranked On Me For Fourteen Years Trying To Make Out Like He Wrote The Song. What A Low-Life Maneuver By Those Guys!" 5 The Online Databases For Both ASCAP And BMI However Credit The Song To Just Dee Dee Ramone And Hell. In The Heartbreakers' Live Performances Of The Song Thunders Would Often Change The Lyrics To More Explicit Ones.
The Ramones On The Ramones' Original Recording Of The Song On Their 1980 Album End Of The Century The Song Is Credited To "D.D.Ramone/R.Hell". However It Later Appeared On The Ramones' CD Rerelease Of End Of The Century Credited To The Ramones As A Whole With No Mention Of Richard Hell. The Ramones' Version Is Called "Chinese Rock" With No S On The End. There Is Another Slight Lyrical Difference Between The Versions The Heartbreakers' Lyrics Begin "Somebody Calls Me On The Phone / They Say Hey Hey Is Dee Dee Home" While The Ramones Change "Dee Dee" To "Arty" An Apparent Reference To Arturo Vega In Whose Loft The Song Is Set. Vega Was A Long-Time Friend Of The Band And The Designer Of The Ramones' "presidential Seal" Logo. However In Live Performances After Dee Dee Left The Band Joey Ramone Sometimes Did Sing "Dee Dee" Instead Of "Arty" As On The Ramones' 1991 Live CD Loco Live . Dee Dee Ramone Has Stated In Interviews That He Feels Proud Of The Song It Being One Of His Best Known Tracks But That The Song Became A "pain In The Ass" For Him As He Repeatedly Tried To Get Clean And Was Mistakenly Regarded By Many Fans As A "heroin Guru" Promoting Drug Usage Rather Than Just Documenting It.
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Biography - Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders Born John Anthony Genzale Jr July 15 1952 - April 23 1991 Was A Rock And Roll Guitarist And Singer First With The New York Dolls The Proto-Punk Glam Rockers Of The Early '70s. During The Late '70s He Was A Familiar Figure On The New York Punk Scene Both With The Heartbreakers And As A Solo Artist. His Screeching Penetrating Guitar Sound Is Distinctive And Highly Influential In Punk Rock Music. Thunders Tangled With The Demons Of Fame And Drug Addiction Until His Death On April 23 1991 Of A Methadone Overdose. Some Suspect Foul Play. The Theory Is That Two Hustlers Met Thunders In A Bar And They Hung Out In His Room Where They Proceeded To Kill Thunders Steal His Belongings And Spike Him With Methadone To Make It Seem Like An Overdose. This Theory Arose When Thunders' Sister Mariann Requested To See The Police Report And Half Of The Report Was Missing. The Autopsy Also Showed No Evidence Of Alcohol In His System Which Is Perplexing Because Many Witnesses Say That They Saw Thunders Drinking With The Two Men The Night Before He Was Killed. Johnny Thunders Was 38.
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16 Similar Artists To Johnny Thunders - Frogtoon Music
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"Chinese Rocks" or "Chinese Rock" is a song written in 1975 by New York City punk rock musicians Richard Hell and Dee Dee Ramone, mostly composed by the latter.
Openly discussing heroin addiction based on real-life experiences, "Chinese Rock" was first recorded by Hell's former band, The Heartbreakers, and later by Dee Dee's band the Ramones.
Hell and Dee Dee were in agreement that the song was mainly written by Dee Dee. "The reason I wrote that song was out of spite for Richard Hell, because he told me he was going to write a song better than Lou Reed's "Heroin", so I went home and wrote 'Chinese Rocks', Dee Dee is quoted in Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. "I wrote it by myself, in Debbie Harry's apartment on First Avenue and First Street."
According to Dee Dee, the song was "about Jerry Nolan, of The Heartbreakers calling me up to come over and go cop" heroin, a form of which was known in those days as Chinese Rocks. "The line 'My girlfriend's crying in the shower stall' was about Connie, and the shower was at Arturo Vega's loft," where Dee Dee, his girlfriend Connie and Joey Ramone all lived at one point.
Dee Dee wanted to record the song with the Ramones, but bandmate Johnny Ramone vetoed it, claiming that the song was too obviously drug-related. Dee Dee then took it to Richard Hell, also with The Heartbreakers at the time. "Dee Dee called me one day and said, 'I wrote a song that the Ramones won't do,'" Hell recalled. "He said, 'It's not finished. How about I come over and show it to you and we can finish it if you like it?'"
According to Hell, "What happened is really clear, and the songwriting credits can all be checked at BMI. The song is by me and Dee Dee, but Dee Dee did 75 percent of it. I mean, all I did was write two verses out of three. Dee Dee wrote the music, the concept was his. He's basically responsible for it. But he brought me the song; he didn't even know Johnny and Jerry, but we were friends and he thought the band was great. And when the Ramones didn't want to do the song he said, 'Look, I've written one verse of this song with the chorus and it's about heroin, how about you write the rest of it and it's yours?'"And that's what he did." Dee Dee similarly recalled, "Richard Hell put that line in, so I gave him some credit."
The Heartbreakers
There were differing recollections about how the song became part of The Heartbreakers' repertoire. Richard Hell said, "I brought it to the next rehearsal, exactly as it was done by the Heartbreakers for all those years. I would sing it because it was a song I brought in." Dee Dee, on the other hand, wrote in his memoir, "When Jerry was over at my place one day, we did some dope and then I played him my song, and he took it with him to a Heartbreakers' rehearsal."
In either case, the song became one of the band's most popular songs. As Hell states, "After I left the Heartbreakers, they kept playing 'Chinese Rocks' and then ended up recording it" for the band's 1977 debut album, L.A.M.F.. "And they put all of their names on it, though nothing had changed about the song--they just added their names to it. Johnny Thunders... had nothing to do with 'Chinese Rocks' at all."
All vinyl pressings L.A.M.F. including the 1984 L.A.M.F. Revisited album continued to credit the song writers as, Thunders, Heartbreakers' drummer Jerry Nolan as well as Ramone and Hell. It was only after the deaths of Thunders and Nolan that the credit was changed. However, both the 1994 and 2002 CD reissues of L.A.M.F. now name the three Ramones as the writers Joey, Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee—but not Hell.
"The credits are false," Dee Dee wrote in 1997. "Johnny Thunders ranked on me for fourteen years, trying to make out like he wrote the song. What a low-life maneuver by those guys!"[5] The online databases for both ASCAP and BMI, however, credit the song to just Dee Dee Ramone and Hell.
In the Heartbreakers' live performances of the song, Thunders would often change the lyrics to more explicit ones.
The Ramones
On the Ramones' original recording of the song on their 1980 album End of the Century, the song is credited to "D.D.Ramone/R.Hell". However, it later appeared on the Ramones' CD rerelease of End of the Century credited to the Ramones as a whole, with no mention of Richard Hell.
The Ramones' version is called "Chinese Rock", with no s on the end. There is another slight lyrical difference between the versions: The Heartbreakers' lyrics begin, "Somebody calls me on the phone / They say hey hey is Dee Dee home", while the Ramones change "Dee Dee" to "Arty", an apparent reference to Arturo Vega, in whose loft the song is set. Vega was a long-time friend of the band and the designer of the Ramones' "presidential seal" logo. However, in live performances after Dee Dee left the band, Joey Ramone sometimes did sing "Dee Dee" instead of "Arty" (as on the Ramones' 1991 live CD Loco Live).
Dee Dee Ramone has stated in interviews that he feels proud of the song, it being one of his best known tracks, but that the song became a "pain in the ass" for him as he repeatedly tried to get clean and was mistakenly regarded by many fans as a "heroin guru" promoting drug usage rather than just documenting it. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.