Sheena Is a Punk Rocker

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"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker"
Single by the Ramones
from the album Rocket to Russia
B-side	"I Don't Care"
Released	May 1977[1]
Recorded	April 1977
Genre	Punk rock[2] surf rock[3] power pop[4]
Length	2:49
Label	Sire
Songwriter(s)	Joey Ramone
Producer(s)	Tony Bongiovi, Tommy Ramone
The Ramones singles chronology
"I Remember You" (1977) "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" (1977) "Swallow My Pride" (1977)
Audio sample
Menu 0:00 "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" file help

"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is a song by the punk rock group the Ramones. Written by Joey Ramone, it is one of the Ramones' most popular songs, evidence of Joey's early 1960s surf rock and bubblegum pop influences. It first appeared in May 1977 as a single in the UK where it charted at number 22 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1][5] In the US, it was released as a single in July 1977, and reached number 81 in the Billboard Hot 100, and appeared on copies of the second issue of the band's 1977 album Leave Home (replacing the track "Carbona Not Glue"). The track, as well as its B-side "I Don't Care", was remixed and re-released for their third LP Rocket to Russia.

Background[]

The "Sheena" referred to in the title is in fact the comic book character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle; the idea being that punk rock music would appeal to a savage jungle girl brought to civilization. Joey Ramone said of the track, "To me 'Sheena' was the first surf/punk rock teenage rebellion song. I combined Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, with the primalness of punk rock. Then Sheena is brought into the modern day."^{[citation needed]}

The song is notable for being one of the first to explicitly refer to "punk rock" in its title and lyrics in terms of a subculture.

Reception[]

The song was ranked at number 5 among the top "Tracks of the Year" for 1977 by NME;^[6] it is ranked number 461 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time^[7] and is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.^[8]

Cover versions[]

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• Rancid covered the song on the We're a Happy Family tribute album.
• Paul Jones covered it as a single, arranged as a ballad with strings.
• Hüsker Dü covered the song on The Living End, a live collection taken from the band's final tour.
• German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen has a live cover version available on their album Im Auftrag des Herrn.
• Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Be Your Own Pet's Jemina Pearl performed their version of the song for the CW show Gossip Girl.
• Love Camp 7 covered the song on the Ramones Maniacs tribute album.
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover the song on the album Heroes, a recording for the War Child charity organization.
• New Model Army covered the song during their 2001 tour, shortly after Joey Ramone's death.
• Shonen Knife, the all-female band from Osaka (Japan), covered the song on their 2012 Ramones tribute album Osaka Ramones, with bassist Ritsuko Taneda on vocals.
• Manic Hispanic covered the song as Creeper Is A Low Rider on their 2003 album Mijo Goes to Jr. College.
• Charli XCX covered the song live during the VICE party at New York's Pier 59 Studios in 2016.
• The Vindictives and The Queers each covered the song as part of their covers of the entire Leave Home and Rocket to Russia albums, respectively, for Selfless Records.

Charts[]

References[]