10 Failed Albums That Became Cult Classics
4. Ramones - Ramones
Punk rock was an enormous, industry enveloping phenomena in the late 70's thanks to bands such as Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. But, the band who triggered the entire movement didn't enjoy even half the commercial success of the bands they directly influenced.
Ramones kick started punk rock in 1976 with their ground-breaking self-titled record but, the stunning primordial soup of punk went almost entirely unnoticed by the global music scene. However, Ramones started to gain a reputation soon after by supporting the Flamin' Groovies for an iconic show at London's Roundhouse in the same year. Almost everyone in attendance for this show went on to form a punk band including names such as Sex Pistols, The Ruts, The Damned and The Adverts.
Despite this genre launching performance, 'Ramones' still remained an incredibly underrated record and it didn't achieve gold certification in the US until 2014. Sadly, the legacy and influence this record had was not witnessed by most of the masterminds behind it with Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone all passing away years prior. Only Tommy Ramone from the bands original line-up lived to see 'Ramones' receive gold certification, but even he died less than one month later.