5 Weird Records in Joey Ramone’s Collection

Holy mackerel, Batman! This Valentine’s Day you can bid on Joey Ramone’s epic collection consisting of 97 vinyl records. Included are records you’d expect from the late punk frontman like Iggy Pop (Lust For Life), Patti Smith (Easter) and Cheap Trick (One On One) but there are also a number that may make you scratch your head. Keep reading for the whole list, starting with five seemingly weird ones.

1. Neil Sedaka (The 50’s & 60’s)
At first glance anyone would be like, huh? The guy who sings “Calendar Girl” and “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do?” Turns out Joey had a thing for pop music and if you really listen you’ll find a lot of Ramones tunes like “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” and “Slug” play a lot like Sedaka songs on speed.

2. Marvin Gaye (Let’s Get It On)
There’s no rule that says a Ramone can’t have soul and heck, even a punk rocker needs some baby making music once in awhile. Besides, both Marvin and Joey had a penchant for crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin so why not?

3. Pat Boone (Greatest Hymns)
Ok so even given Joey’s affection for crooners, this one is a mystery. This isn’t Boone’s “Greatest Hits” we’re talking about but hymns. I’ll admit that I never knew Joey to be an overly religious guy, so I’m pretty puzzled that he’d have an album of a dude singing about God but hey, I have a few embarrassing records in my collection too.

4. Laura Lee (Women’s Love Rights)
Laura Lee was a soul/funk singer and was the first to celebrate what it is to be a woman through her music. I don’t know how much of a feminist Joey was but I think it’s pretty cool that he listened to such a badass woman’s, badass album. ‘Nuff said.

5. Carly Simon (No Secrets)
Another mystery. There’s no denying both Carly and Joey were singers with a very distinctive sound but I don’t see a connection beyond that. Maybe Joey just listened to “You’re So Vain” to lament over how scummy Johnny Ramone was for stealing his girlfriend away from him.

While Joey has a lot of rock and pop albums (The Kinks, The Ventures, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, etc) it’s interesting that he doesn’t seem to have any of his punk peers in his collection. Anyone have any guesses why? For the whole list of Joey’s records in the auction, click here.

The auction is starting at only $500 for all 97 records but since everyone in the world should be a Ramones fan (including my baby brother) I dont see the final bid ending anywhere near where I could afford! But if you think you have a chance, the auction runs from Feb. 14 to Feb. 21, 2013 and also includes items like Joey’s leather jacket, handwritten lyrics and guitars.

Did you check out the list? See if there’s any that strike you as weird and sound off in the comments below.