The KKK Took My Baby Away

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"The KKK Took My Baby Away" is a song written by Joey Ramone. It appears on the Ramones' 1981 album Pleasant Dreams.

Many Ramones fans claim that the song was penned by Joey after Ramones' guitarist Johnny Ramone "stole" Joey's ex-girlfriend Linda from him. The KKK reference refers to Johnny's conservative political stance, which influenced Johnny's management of the band in a militant, slighty authoritarian way. Johnny first started to cheat on his girlfriend at the time, to see Linda. When he wanted to see one girl he would claim to visit his uncle in Philadelphia. To add insult to injury, Johnny eventually married Linda, while his relationship with Joey never recovered—even when Joey was stricken with cancer.

There is some speculation about the song's initial origin story however. Many sources actually report that Joey had been working on the song since the mid-1970's, which explains why it has more of a classic Ramones tempo and structure to it than most of their songs of that era. The distinctive guitar chords were directly influenced by the song "He's a Whore" by Cheap Trick. Some also believe that the guitar chords were ripped directly from the relatively obscure T. Rex song "Laser Love".

It was covered by Marilyn Manson on the We're a Happy Family tribute album. The song has also been covered by Pearl Jam, Face to Face, Relient K, MxPx, Dead Kennedys, The Ordinary Boys, The Misfits, Dragonfly, Die Ärzte, The Ataris, Guttermouth and Rough Bullet .

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Ramones

Joey Ramone • Johnny Ramone • Dee Dee Ramone • Marky Ramone
C. J. Ramone • Tommy Ramone • Richie Ramone • Elvis Ramone
Discography

Studio albums: Ramones (1976) • Leave Home (1977) • Rocket to Russia (1977) • Road to Ruin (1978) • End of the Century (1980) • Pleasant Dreams (1981) • Subterranean Jungle (1983) • Too Tough to Die (1984) • Animal Boy (1986) • Halfway to Sanity (1987) • Brain Drain (1989) • Mondo Bizarro (1992) • Acid Eaters (1993) • ¡Adios Amigos! (1995)

Live albums: It's Alive (1979) • Loco Live (1991) • Greatest Hits Live (1996) • We're Outta Here! (1997) • You Don't Come Close (2001) • NYC 1978 (2003)

Compilations: Ramones Mania (1988) • All The Stuff (And More!) Volume 1 (1990) • All The Stuff (And More!) Volume 2 (1990) • Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology (1999) • Ramones Mania Vol. 2 (2000) • Masters of Rock: Ramones (2001) • Best of the Chrysalis Years (2002) • Loud, Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits (2002) • The Chrysalis Years (2002) • The Best of The Ramones (2004) • Weird Tales of the Ramones (2005) • Greatest Hits (2006)

Tribute albums: Gabba Gabba Hey: A Tribute to the Ramones (1991) • Ramones (1992) • Rocket To Russia (1994) • Rocket to Ramonia (1996) • File Under Ramones (1999) • We're a Happy Family - A Tribute To Ramones (2003)

Films: Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) • Lifestyles of the Ramones (1990) • Ramones - Around the World (1993) • We're Outta Here (1997) • End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003) • Ramones: Raw (2004)
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