"Rockaway Beach"
Single by Ramones
from the album Rocket to Russia
B-side"Locket Love"
Released1977
Genre
Length2:06
LabelSire
Songwriter(s)Dee Dee Ramone
Producer(s)Tony Bongiovi, Tommy Ramone
Ramones singles chronology
"Swallow My Pride"
(1977)		 "Rockaway Beach"
(1977)		 "Do You Wanna Dance?"
(1978)
Audio
"Rockaway Beach" on YouTube

"Rockaway Beach" is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released in 1977 from the band's third studio album Rocket to Russia. The song was written by bassist Dee Dee Ramone in the style of the Beach Boys and early surf rock bands.[4] The song is about Rockaway Beach in Queens, where Dee Dee liked to spend time. Guitarist Johnny Ramone claimed that Dee Dee was "the only real beachgoer" in the group. Released in 1977, it was the Ramones' highest-charting single in their career, peaking at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]

Background

"Rockaway Beach" was inspired by the actual Rockaway Beach located in New York, where lead singer Joey Ramone was raised.[6] The song was written by bassist Dee Dee Ramone who frequently visited the beach.[7]

Composition

"Rockaway Beach" is a punk rock song that runs for a duration of two minutes and six seconds.[1] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music, it is written in the time signature of common time with the exception of the interlude, which is in 5
4,[8] with a driving punk rock tempo of 185 beats per minute.[1] "Rockaway Beach" is composed in the key of A major, while Joey Ramone's vocal range spans from the low-note of E4 to the high-note of A5.[1] The song has a basic sequence of C♯–D–C♯–D during the introduction, follows A–D–E in the verses and chorus, and changes to G–Dtype2–D–E–F–C at the bridge as its chord progression.[1] 

The musical arrangement opens with an instrumental introduction, where a rhythm guitar part is played at high-speed using downstrokes with grinding distortion.[9][1] "Rockaway Beach" is a breezy number laden with catchy hooks.[6][9] It express carefree lyrics that hearken back to simpler, brighter days of the band's youth.[6] The song's verses illustrate an idiosyncratic worldview, one flanked by surfboards and discotheques.[10][2] They celebrate a scene set in the middle of a hot summer in New York.[10][11][6]

Critical reception

Greg Beets of The Austin Chronicle called the song "backhanded genius".[12] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine cites "Rockaway Beach" as being among the "finest set of songs" Ramones had written for Rocket to Russia.[9] He characterized its musical composition as "teeming with irresistibly catchy hooks".[9] Gina Boldman, from the same publication, praised the song's "mindless, bopping opening" and summarized, "One of the group's most carefree and breezy songs ... The imagery puts you right in the middle of a hot New York summer in the mid-to-late '70s, and it's easy to feel as jubilant as the song (and Ramone) does.[6] Time Out's Steve Smith hailed the song as a "bubblegum masterpiece".[10] Music critic Robert Christgau regarded "Rockaway Beach" as an "actual potential hit".[13] In his review of the anniversary edition, Zachary Hopskins from Slant Magazine ranks the song one of the group's "stone-cold classics: as likely to put a smile on one’s face and a bounce in one’s Chucks in 2017 as they were 40 years ago".[14]

Chart performance

"Rockaway Beach" has since become the Ramones' highest charting single, peaking at number sixty-six on Billboard Hot 100.[10][11]

Other uses

  • The song was used in 2002 in the What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "She Sees Sea Monsters by the Sea Shore".
  • In June 2013, the song was used in a radio ad campaign sponsored by Queens Economic Development Corporation to promote recovery from Hurricane Sandy by drawing New Yorkers back to Rockaway Beach.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Ramones (30 July 2007). "The Ramones 'Rockaway Beach' Sheet Music (Leadsheet) in A Major - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Rathbone, Oregano (December 2017). "Ramones – Rocket To Russia: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". Record Collector (474). Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone Staff (June 25, 2022). "The Best Summer Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 10, 2023. A bubblegum torpedo ride, this 1977 punk rock classic is about hitching your way out of the gritty city...
  4. ↑ Ramones – Rockaway Beach, retrieved 2022-02-04
  5. ↑ tolsen (2013-01-02). "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Boldman, Gina. "Rockaway Beach - Ramones". AllMusic. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
  7. ↑ Ray, Austin L (18 May 2010). "The 10 Best Ramones Songs of All Time". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Ramones - Rockaway Beach (Official)".
  9. 1 2 3 4 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rocket to Russia – Ramones". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Steve. ""Rockaway Beach" by The Ramones (VIDEO)". timeout.com. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Ramones". billboard.com. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Beets, Greg (2001-07-13). "Ramones: Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia, Road to Ruin". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  13. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Ramones: Rocket to Russia". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
  14. ↑ Hoskins, Zachary (2017-11-23). "Ramones: Rocket to Russia (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  15. ↑ Warren, James (3 June 2013). "Radio ad campaign to use Ramones hit 'Rockaway Beach' to lure visitors back to the shorefront devastated by Hurricane Sandy". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
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