The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop

The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York in 1974, often cited as the first punk rock group.

Despite achieving only limited commercial success, the band was a major influence on the punk rock movement both in the United States and the United Kingdom.

All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname "Ramone", though none of them were actually related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years.

In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played a farewell concert and disbanded. By a little more than eight years after the breakup, the band's three founding members—lead singer Joey Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone—had all died.

Recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now cited in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the Rolling Stone list of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time and VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

In 2002, the Ramones were ranked the second-greatest band of all time by Spin magazine, trailing only The Beatles. On March 18, 2002, the Ramones—including the three founders and drummers Marky and Tommy Ramone—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Blitzkrieg Bop" is a song by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released as the band's debut single in April of 1976 in the United States. It appeared as the lead track on the band's debut album, Ramones, also released that month.

The song, whose composition was credited to the band as a whole, was written by bassist Dee Dee Ramone (lyrics) and drummer Tommy Ramone (music and lyrics). Based on a simple three-chord pattern, "Blitzkrieg Bop" opens with the chant "Hey! Ho! Let's go!".

"Blitzkrieg Bop" is number 92 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and number 18 on top 100 of Best Guitar Songs of All Time.

In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 31 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks,. In 2009 it was named the 25th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

"Blitzkrieg Bop" was named after the German World War II tactic blitzkrieg, which literally means "lightning war". The precise meaning and subject matter of the song are, unlike many of The Ramones' other early compositions, somewhat vague and obscure.

It may be a reference to attacking the exposed flank of tanks during a blitzkrieg operation, while some fans contend, based on lines such as "Shoot 'em in the back now", that the song tells of gang violence, which would seem to be more in line with the bands' other songs of that era.

But it is more likely that the song is simply about having a good time at a concert, perhaps an ode to early punk fans. The song has been covered by various artists including Beautiful South and Green Day.