Maps of Music

Rocket to Russia (1977)

Where the lyrics of Rocket to Russia take you, and where it was really made.

The band expected this album to produce hit singles, but it sold fewer copies than hoped, and the members blamed the Sex Pistols.

Key places

Recording begins at Mediasound (1977)

Recording site Mediasound Studios — The album's recording started here on August 21, 1977, in a former Episcopalian church in Midtown Manhattan. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

April 1977 sessions at Sundragon (1977)

Recording site Sundragon Studios — Two songs, I Don't Care and Sheena Is a Punk Rocker, were recorded at Sundragon Studios in April 1977, the same studio used for the band's second album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo location (1977)

Album cover Extra Place — The front cover photo was taken in Extra Place, an alley in East Village, Manhattan. The marker shows the alley area only. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Rocket to Russia: third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones
• Released November 4, 1977 through Sire Records
• Last album featuring original drummer Tommy Ramone
• Tommy left the band in 1978 to focus on production
• Working title was Get Well

Background

• Summer 1977: the single Sheena Is a Punk Rocker was released before the album
• New York punk bands were receiving recording contracts that summer
• Sire gave the band a budget of $25,000 to $30,000, considerably larger than before
• Much of that money went toward production rather than recording
• On the first session day, Johnny Ramone brought a copy of the Sex Pistols' single God Save the Queen

Recording

• Recording began August 21, 1977 at Mediasound Studios in Midtown Manhattan
• Mediasound was housed in a former Episcopalian church
• Studio rent was $150 per hour; the first take of a song was usually used as the final recording
• Ed Stasium did much of the production; Johnny insisted Bongiovi was not even there during sessions
• Final mastering was mainly done at Bongiovi's Power Station studio
• Phil Spector offered to produce the album, but the band declined
• Sundragon Studios was used for two songs, I Don't Care and Sheena Is a Punk Rocker, in April 1977

Cover

• Cover art directed by John Gillespie
• Front cover photo by Danny Fields, taken in Extra Place, an alley in East Village, Manhattan
• John Holmstrom illustrated the back cover, which takes a military theme with an anti-communist cartoon
• The original artwork is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · es.wikipedia.org

Artist

Formation

• An American punk rock band formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, in 1974.
• Founding members Jeff Hyman, John Cummings, Douglas Colvin and Thomas Erdelyi took the stage names Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy Ramone.
• The name was inspired by Paul McCartney's pseudonym Paul Ramon from his Silver Beetles days.
• The band made its CBGB debut on August 16, 1974, and became regulars at the club.
• Sire Records signed them in late 1975.

Members

• Joey Ramone (lead vocals, 1974–1996; died 2001).
• Johnny Ramone (guitar, 1974–1996; died 2004).
• Dee Dee Ramone (bass, 1974–1989; died 2002).
• Tommy Ramone (drums, 1974–1978; died 2014).
• Marky Ramone, Richie Ramone, Elvis Ramone and C. J. Ramone joined as later drummers and bassists.

Career

• The debut album Ramones was released in April 1976 and helped spearhead punk; its influence on British and American punk is widely cited.
• The band performed 2,263 concerts and released fourteen studio albums.
• Rocket to Russia (1977) was its highest-charting album, reaching number 49 on the Billboard 200.
• The band broke up after a farewell show at the Palace in Hollywood on August 6, 1996, following the Lollapalooza tour.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Reception

At release

• Critics praised the matured production and sound quality compared with the band's earlier albums
• Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it his favorite Ramones album, citing its many hooks and its wider variety of tempos
• Robert Christgau noted that the album had something for everyone and called it a ready-made punk-rock classic in his 1981 Record Guide
• Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh began his review by calling it the best American rock and roll of the year
• John Rockwell of The New York Times deemed it the band's best album because the humor and role-playing had become more overt than ever
• The Los Angeles Times called it an important breakthrough album and praised its inspired lunacy
• UPI listed it as the second best album of 1977, calling the Ramones the undisputed kings of American punk

Reappraisal

• Rolling Stone ranked it number 106 in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012
• The same list placed it at number 385 in the 2020 edition
• A Spanish-language article describes Erlewine as calling it the band's favorite album

Records

• Peak position on the US Billboard 200 was number 49
• It debuted at number 31 in Sweden, number 36 in Canada, and number 60 on the UK Albums Chart
• The band's sales were below its hopes, and members blamed the Sex Pistols for changing the punk image for the worse

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• On the first day of sessions, Johnny Ramone brought the Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen single and asked for a better sound than theirs.
• Phil Spector offered to produce the album, but the band turned him down out of respect for their drummer Tommy.
• Metallica has covered two songs from this album, Cretin Hop and We're a Happy Family.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact