Tamás Erdélyi was born in 1949 in Budapest, Hungary, the son of Jewish photographers who had survived the holocaust by being hidden by friends. When he was 8, his family emigrated to Queens and Tamás became Thomas.
Although he was originally supposed to be the Ramones manager, Tommy was drafted to play the drums when his high school friend Joey Ramone abandoned that instrument to become their singer. He remained in that role from 1974 to 1978, playing on and co-producing their first three albums, Ramones, Leave Home, and Rocket to Russia, as well as the live album It’s Alive. He wrote the songs “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” and most of “Blitzkrieg Bop.”
Tommy was the last surviving original Ramone at the time of his death from cancer, at age 65, in 2014.
