Johnny Ramone's last words will finally reach fans when his memoir is released this spring. Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone covers the Ramones guitarist's rise to fame with the innovative New York punks, as well as his childhood memories and health battles (he died from prostate cancer in 2004). Bandmate Tommy Ramone – the only surviving member of the original lineup – wrote the introduction, and friend Lisa Marie Presley contributed the epilogue. The book also focuses on Ramone's romance with his eventual wife Linda, who previously dated Joey Ramone.
"It is a really powerful book because his whole life has gone before him and he knows it's going to come to an end, and he really needs to tell everybody what he's feeling inside, so that's what makes it so amazing," Linda Ramone told the Associated Press. "That is the biggest, most powerful thing, writing a book when you know you're dying." She initially planned to include interviews with Johnny's friends in the final version, but decided against it: ""It didn't make Johnny Ramone's book more powerful by having other people in the book talking about him." She does hope to release a separate volume of photographs in the future.
In a statement, Tommy Ramone said, "Johnny Ramone's autobiography is a no-holds-barred, straightforward book written in a no-nonsense style that is Johnny personified. His story is written in his own actual words, so the reader gets an insight into what made him the unique, charismatic and exciting individual that he was."
