Ramones frontman Joey Ramone sadly passed away on this day (April 15) in 2001. The legendary punk-rock singer was just 49 years old after a battle with lymphoma.
Videos by American Songwriter
To commemorate the anniversary, Joey’s younger brother, Mickey Leigh, has posted an emotional video tribute to his famous sibling. When Joey died, his family was playing the 2000 U2 song “In a Little While,” so as an homage, Leigh recorded a video of him performing an acoustic version of the tune a few years ago. He’s now shared the clip on Ramone’s official Facebook page.
Accompanying the video is a heartfelt note from Mickey recalling the moment of his brother’s passing.
“we listened to this song, crying, holding my brother’s hands, stroking his head, telling him that soon he’ll feel no more pain … there’ll be no more suffering,” Leigh wrote. “And when the song ended, we heard a voice say, ‘he’s gone now’ – how can you ever forget something like that? after 10 years not being able to listen to the whole song without breaking down [I] realized the only way to do that was do this. no way around it[,] leading up to this day is always saddening. a little while can feel like a long time.”
He added while quoting part of the song’s lyrics, “in a little while this hurt won’t hurt no more. in a little while, i’ll be there. … we’ll all be there. but for now, even though you’re still here with us … we miss you.”
The Members of U2 Were Big Ramones Fans
U2 were huge Ramones fans from the start, and the Irish rockers regularly would play covers of Ramones songs at some of their earliest gigs.
When Joey Ramone was on his death bed, Bono gave him a call and was one of the last people to speak to him. After Joey died, U2 paid tribute to him during several of their concerts, with Bono and The Edge performing the Ramones song “I Remember You.”
U2 also wrote a song paying homage to the late Ramones frontman called “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone).” It appeared on the band’s 2014 studio album Songs of Innocence.
Mickey Leigh Was Honored for His Support of Lymphoma Charities Recently
In March 2025, Leigh was honored with an achievement award by the Lymphoma Research Foundation for his contributions to the charity. Since 2001, Leigh has helped organize of the annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash, which has raised more than $90,000 for the foundation to date.
The event, which celebrates Joey’s life and music, takes place each year on May 19, his birthday.
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