End of the Century

producer Phil Spector became interested in the Ramones and produced their fifth album End of the Century (1980). There is a long-disputed rumor that during the recording sessions in Los Angeles, Spector held Dee Dee at gunpoint, forcing him to repeatedly play a riff. Although it was to be the highest-charting album in the band’s history—reaching number 44 in the United States and number 14 in Great Britain—Johnny made clear that he favored the band’s more aggressive punk material: ” End of the Century was just watered-down Ramones. It’s not the real Ramones.” This stance was also conveyed by the title and track selection of the compilation album Johnny later oversaw, Loud, Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits . Despite these reservations, Johnny did concede that some of Spector’s work with the band had merit, saying “It really worked when he got to a slower song like ‘ Danny Says ‘—the production really worked tremendously. ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio’ is really good. For the harder stuff, it didn’t work as well.” The string-laden Ronettes cover ” Baby, I Love You ” released as a single, became the band’s biggest hit in Great Britain, reaching number 8 on the charts.