Joe
Strummer: 1952 – 2002
 The
first time I can recall hearing The Clash, I must have been
about twelve years old. I remember cranking up my little
radio, and prancing around my bedroom to the classic riffs
of “Should I Stay or Should I Go”. From that
musical milestone of my musical awareness on, vocalist/guitarist
Joe Strummer has been an important figure of my life, alongside
Joey Ramone, Johnny Rotten and Dave Vanian.
My heart broke when I picked up a newspaper last week and
realized that my idol had died of a heart attack on December
22nd, at the age of 50.
Is this the demise of punk rock? The founding fathers of
the musical revolution are disappearing at an alarmingly
fast rate. First Joey Ramone, in April 2001, brought dumbfounded
punkers to tears when he died of lymphatic cancer (he left
a “note” though, 2001’s Don’t Worry
About Me, his first – and posthumously released –
solo record). In 2002, Joey’s compatriot in arms,
Dee Dee Ramone (The Ramones’ bassist) joined him in
that big mosh-pit in the sky, due to an overdose. So 50%
of the Ramones (in my opinion, the band almost single-handedly
responsible for punk – period) have perished, with
little Joe Strummer in tow. It would seem that soon, the
great masters of punk, already an endangered species, would
be extinct.
Extinct, maybe, but not forgotten: 1977’s The Clash
(their debut LP) was an extremely important milestone in
bringing U.K.
punk to the States, along with the premier records from
The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Buzzcocks, The Jam and
countless others. The Clash is still (justly) to this day,
the biggest selling import album in U.S. music history.
Joe Strummer and The Clash (guitarist Mick Jones, bassist
Paul Simonon and drummer Nicky Headon), like most genius
punk bands, only released a few good albums; but they were
SO good, they totally obliterate anything mediocre the band
attempted during their career, while giving them everlasting
credibility and eternal rock star stature. London Calling
is among these albums. A rock ’n’ roll elephant
of a double album, a sparkling gem, borrowing form ska,
alternative, arena rock… 1982’s Combat Rock
is also one of Strummer & co’s awe-inspiring albums:
they even managed to score mainstream success with “Should
I Stay…” and “Rock the Casbah”.
Luckily, thanks to such sonic masterpieces, the legacy of
Joe, The Clash, and Punk will live long, very long within
the souls of music admirers everywhere.
For more information, please visit;
strummernews.com
clashuk.tripod.com
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