Richie was the best (in my opinion) and most talented drummer in the Ramones history. He made great songs, sang great songs which should have been released, and he performed great along with background vocals. He joined in 1983, shortly after the Subterranean Jungle album was released, and he was ammediatly in a load of videos including, "Time Has Come Today," "Psycho Therapy" "Howling At the Moon" and "Something to Believe In." Richie performed in the albums Too Tough to Die, Animal Boy, and Halfway to Sanity which are my personal favorite Ramones Albums that not many people seem to like very much. Richie wrote many songs which were released, but also, many songs that weren't released. The songs he wrote that were released were Humankind, Somebody Put Something in my Drink, (You) Can't Say Anything Nice, I'm Not Jesus, and I Know Better Now. These were all great songs that nobody seems to appreciate. Humankind, a great Tough song that fits the album perfectly. Somebody Put Something in My Drink, an awsome song that was written on a true occurance of when somebody slipped a drug in Richie's drink. (You) Can't Say Anything Nice was only released as a B-Side, but Richie sang it. I love the song, and I downloaded it here:http://www.redshift.com/~jpeoples/audio.htmI'm Not Jesus is known as the worst Ramones song ever released and recorded. I totally disagree. I think the song is tough, and hardcore, and the lyrics are great, extremely creative. I Know Better Now, a great Ramones song with awsome lyrics and a great sound. Songs that weren't released were Smash You, Elevator Operator, Indian Giver, and probrably more. I have no idea why Smash You wasn't released. Everybody seems to love the song. Elevator Operator is an awsome song with Richie on vocals. The song is awsome, should have been released, and wasn't. Indian Giver was released, but during the second Marky Ramone era (1988-1996) on the compilation album, "Ramones Mania." I have also heard Richie sing versions of Smash You, Humankind, and Chasing the Night. These versions are better than the ones that were released! Richie was awsome, but not accepted as a true Ramone. This is because he suddenly left right before the Halway to Sanity tour in 1987. Everyone thinks that Richie left the Ramones because he was cheap. I hate anyone that says that. All Richie wanted was an equal percentage of T-Shirt money from the Ramones. That's it. The Ramones were being cheap for not giving him the money! I think that Richie makes himself sound cheap in the DVD "Ramones:End of the Century" but he wasn't. I understand him completely, and you have to think about his situation. Where else was he going to get money? It was his job and career to perform with the Ramones. Although he probrably received a sum of money performing in live shows and such, he would have made a lot of money with the T-Shirts too. According to other websites, after Richie left the band, he didn't want to have anything to do with music, and unfortunatly, nobody knows where he is now. Some say he is now a golf caddy in Los Angelas. I am not sure where he is now, but I'm sure that deep inside his heart, he loves the Ramones and wishes he didn't have to leave, and if there is one thing I hate very deeply about the Ramones, it is that they treated Richie like shit, like a replacement.
