A recently-released book by Vera Ramone King, the former wife of Dee Dee Ramone of popular band The Ramones, gives a new behind-the-scenes look at the famous band and what life was like with them.
Ramone was living in Forest Hills and King in Whitestone when the two first met in 1977 at a
In her book Poisoned Heart: I Married Dee Dee Ramone (The Ramone Years), King describes what life as the wife of the rock star was like, including both the good and the bad. Some of the excerpts talk about Ramone’s drug addiction, his mood changes and his abuse of King. Others describe a man who was caring, giving and loving.
“There were a lot of different sides to Dee Dee and the legacy he left behind was of a crazed drug addict, out-of-control kind of guy,” King said. “I wanted his fans to know there was a lot more to this man that they knew. They deserve to know that he was a wonderful person…”
King said that Ramone was later diagnosed as being bipolar and manic depressive.
The book also talks about the work that the Queens-based band had to do to get their music heard and gain a following. In her book, King described the founder members as “four young punks from Forest Hills,
“They sort of put Queens on the map, musically anyway,” King said. “As far as punk,
Queens was also an important impact in the personal lives of King and Ramone. After they married, they settled down in an apartment in Whitestone. While they were living there, King said Ramone was sober and working on getting straight.
“We had some of our happiest times in Whitestone,” she said. “We loved living there. It gave us a little bit of normalcy to our life.”
In writing the book, King said that it was very therapeutic and healing for her. She and Ramone separated in 1989 and finalized their divorce in 1995. Ramone died in 2002, and King said there was much left unsaid between them.
“This was my way of telling him that he’ll always have…a major piece of my heart,” King said. “I think he knows that.”
Poisoned Heart, which also includes many photos, some of which have never been released before, officially came out on June 1. Shortly after its release, King was in
King said that she might go to
“Everybody gets something different out of the book,” King said, adding that whether a person is a Ramones fan or not they will enjoy the book. “I like that something strikes a chord with everyone that reads it.”
For more information on Poisoned Heart: I Married Dee Dee Ramone (The Ramone Years), visit www.veraramoneking.com.
