Ramones
Rocket to Russia

Date: 1977
8147-6042 H
GRT Tapes/Sire Records

This 8-track of the Moment is in honor of Joey Ramone, who died on April 17, 2001. There's not much I can say about Joey or the Ramones that hasn't already been said, so my suggestion would be to check some of the Ramones web sites listed at the Ultimate Band List (www.ubl.com) if you're interested. I was lucky enough to see the Ramones in 1978, and they blew my mind. I went home after the show and literally threw away all my Yes and Pink Floyd records (damn, wish I had kept them now!) and went whole-hog punk for about the next 5 years! 

I wonder just how many punks actually bought the Ramones on 8-track? When I was buying Ramones records back in the late '70s, I hadn't purchased an 8-track in years, and I expect that most punk kids had never bought one. So who was buying them? They're certainly not easy to find, so I assume not many were sold; I have only been able to find the first four albums on 8-track, plus the soundtrack to Rock 'n' Roll High School. I picked Rocket to Russia for 8-track of the Moment just because there are so many killer songs on it. They totally rearranged all the songs from the album to make exactly 8 minutes of music per program... I guess it was either that or the old fade out. 

Here's a list of possible Ramones 8-tracks. I've noted the ones that have been verified. If you can verify any of the others, please e-mail 8-track Heaven at

* verified by Vinnie Ditore