OK, all of you lucky folks in LA, do NOT miss this crazy good exhibit at Morrison Hotel Gallery! At the end of this post, we have included a video interview we did with Brad Elterman, one of the featured photographers
The Ramones, 1978 ©Brad Elterman

The Ramones Work My Camera
1978: The Ramones were staying at the Sunset Marquis, just down the street from the intersection of Sunset Blvd and Alta Loma. The band was wonderful to photograph and they really knew how to work the camera. They would all line up and strike their pose like they had already done it a thousand times before. It was so cute to watch. I am sure they were taught how to do the dog for the camera by their brilliant manager, Danny Fields, also a talented photographer. Both the Sunset Marquis and The Whiskey are still around. You can go for a visit and stand in the exact spot where Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy once stood. I should conduct tours of these landmarks.

Forty years ago, a mighty band from Forest Hills, Queens released a debut album, brandishing buzz saw guitars and demented bubblegum pop sing-alongs that changed the face of popular culture. Virtually overnight the Ramones wiped rock music clean of pomp and bloat, and invented a new genre – Punk Rock. From April 30th to May 6th, Morrison Hotel Gallery at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood salutes this feat with an unprecedented exhibit featuring fine art photography legends that also happened to have had a ringside seat while these iconoclasts changed music forever. Guitarist Johnny Ramones’s widow, Linda Ramone, will curate the exhibit.

“The Ramones set the tone for what punk rock was supposed to sound like,” says MHG partner Timothy White. “We wanted to create a comprehensive exhibit that includes never seen before images. Consequently, we have included photographers other than those that Morrison Hotel Gallery represent – such as the great Bob Gruen and Mick Rock. I’m very excited about this exhibit, and about working with Linda Ramone, and all the great photographers involved.”

To properly commemorate this milestone anniversary of 40 years since The Ramones released its debut, Morrison Hotel Gallery reached out to anyone and everyone who has ever photographed the band. Through exhaustive research and planning, the Gallery was able to track down iconic, rare, and previously unseen images of the group. Timothy White, who grew up in the fertile creative scene of CBGBs, was also able to earn the support and involvement of Johnny Ramone’s widow, Linda Ramone, to ensure the exhibit experience was immersive and felt authentic. One poetic tie-in is a well-loved photo of the group on the corner of Sunset and Alta Loma right where the Sunset Marquis is located.

This exhibit brings The Ramones’ mondo bizarro back to life with some of photography’s finest practitioners who happened to know the band intimately and be there for its seismic reign. Showing their Ramones catalog with be such venerated names as Bob Gruen, Brad Elterman, Chuck Krall, Danny Fields, Elaine Mayes, Ebet Roberts, Denis O’Regan, David Arnoff, Karen Mason- Blair, Norman Seeff, Lawrence Watson, Lynn Goldsmith, Mick Rock, Stephanie Chernikowski, and Merri Cyr. Throughout the hotel will be larger than life images of the group, and during the hours of the opening there will be a virtual Ramones concert in the courtyard sound-tracking exhibit.

In 1976, The Ramones dropped its self-titled debut on an unsuspecting culture. Twenty-two years, 14 studio albums, and 2,263 shows later, the quartet’s impact is indelible. Rolling Stone and VH1 have included their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” lists. SPIN ranked them the second-greatest band of all time, behind the Beatles. The Ramones are in immortalized in the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame, and they’ve been awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They’re currently being honored at the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows with an exhibit, that will be up through July 2016. By 2014, sadly, all four founding members had died.

The Ramone’s music was gloriously no frills-their pop savant song-craft was front and center with nary a guitar solo or instrumental break to detract from the group’s explosive simplicity. The band’s image perfectly matched its music-ripped jeans, canvas sneakers, mop top haircuts, and leather jackets made for an unforgettable visage that epitomized rock n’ roll without pretense.

About Morrison Hotel® Gallery
Morrison Hotel® Gallery (MHG) was founded in 2001 by former record company executive Peter Blachley, music retail industry professional Richard Horowitz, and legendary music photographer Henry Diltz. In 2012, author, director and photographer Timothy White joined the team, launching an additional West Coast gallery at The Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood.

MHG is the world’s leading brand in fine art music photography representing over 100 of the world’s finest music photographers and their archives. Their vast catalog of photography encompasses jazz, blues, and rock imagery spanning several generations through to today’s contemporary music artists and now includes iconic photographs in the world of sports as well. MHG has a robust online presence, featuring over 100,000 images searchable by photographer, music artist, band or concert. www.morrisonhotelgallery.com

Morrison Hotel Gallery
116 Prince Street || New York, NY 10012
212.941.8770

Morrison Hotel Gallery
Sunset Marquis
1200 Alta Loma Road || West Hollywood, CA 90069
310.881.6025

And the video, from a few years back: