"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is a song by American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

, released in 1977 through

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

. Written by front man and lead vocalist

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, songwriter, and the lead vocalist and founding member of the punk rock band Ramones, with Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone. His ...

, it appears on the band's third studio album ''

Rocket to Russia ''Rocket to Russia'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. It is the band's last album to feature original drummer Tommy Ramone, who left the band in 1978 ...

'' (1977). The song is well known for its early 1960s influence of

surf rock Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...

and

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, th ...

that influenced Joey; it has since remained one of the band's most popular songs. The song first appeared in May 1977 as a single in the UK where it charted at number 22 in the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it was released as a single in July 1977, and reached number 81 in the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, and appeared on copies of the second issue of the band's 1977 album ''

Leave Home ''Leave Home'' is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. The front photo was ...

'' (replacing the track "Carbona Not Glue"). The track, as well as its B-side "I Don't Care", was remixed and re-released for their third LP ''

''.

Background

The "Sheena" referred to in the title is in fact the comic book character

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional American comic book jungle girl heroine during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She originally debuted in the British magazine ''Wags'' #46 (January 1938). and later made her first American appearance i ...

; the idea being that punk rock music would appeal to a savage jungle girl brought to civilization. Joey Ramone said of the track, "To me 'Sheena' was the first surf/punk rock teenage rebellion song. I combined Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, with the primalness of punk rock. Then Sheena is brought into the modern day." The song is notable for being one of the first to explicitly refer to "punk rock" in its title and lyrics in terms of a subculture.

Reception

The song was ranked at number 5 among the top "Tracks of the Year" for 1977 by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''; it is ranked number 461 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. in 2010, number 457 in 2004, and number 434 in 2021 and is included in the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "this combination of grinding guitars, rock nostalgia and Anglophiliac delivery could only belong to the Ramones" and that it "is their slickest effort to date." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that the single "recalls California surf instrumentals, and it could be he Ramones'first hit.."

Charts

Cover versions

* Rancid covered the song on the '' We're a Happy Family'' tribute album. * Paul Jones covered it as a single, arranged as a ballad with strings. *

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

covered the song on ''

The Living End The Living End is an Australian punk rock band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 1997 after ...

'', a live collection taken from the band's final tour. * German

band

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom ''tote Hose'' (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success through th ...

has a live cover version available on their album '' Im Auftrag des Herrn''. *

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

's Thurston Moore and Be Your Own Pet's

Jemina Pearl Jemina Pearl Abegg (born June 20, 1987) is an American singer and the frontwoman of Be Your Own Pet, a punk rock band she started when she was 16. She appeared in the television series ''Gossip Girl'', in a musical performance with Thurston Mo ...

performed their version of the song for the CW show ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

''. * Love Camp 7 covered the song on the ''

Ramones Maniacs ''Ramones Maniacs'' is a 2001 tribute album to the punk rock band the Ramones, released by Trend Is Dead! Records. The album's track list is an exact match of the band's 1988 compilation album ''Ramones Mania'', which had been released by Sire Reco ...

'' tribute album. *

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compleme ...

cover the song on the album '' Heroes'', a recording for the War Child charity organization. *

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

covered the song during their 2001 tour, shortly after Joey Ramone's death. *

Shonen Knife Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional ...

, the all-female band from

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

(

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

), covered the song on their 2012 Ramones tribute album'' Osaka Ramones'', with bassist

Ritsuko Taneda is a Japanese musician, best known as the bass guitarist and rhythm guitarist for the pop punk band Shonen Knife from 2006 to 2016. Before joining Shonen Knife, she was a guitarist and vocalist for the J-Pop groups Keihan Girl and Denki Candy. ...

on vocals. * Manic Hispanic covered the song as ''Creeper Is A Low Rider'' on their 2003 album ''Mijo Goes to Jr. College''. *

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

covered the song live during the

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

party at New York's Pier 59 Studios in 2016. * The Vindictives and

The Queers The Queers are an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joseph “Joe” P. King (a.k.a. Joe Queer) along with Scott Gildersleeve (a.k.a. Tulu), and John “Jack” Hayes (a.k.a. Wimpy Rutherford). With the ...

each covered the song as part of their covers of the entire ''Leave Home'' and ''Rocket to Russia'' albums, respectively, for Selfless Records.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheena Is A Punk Rocker Ramones songs 1977 singles Songs written by Joey Ramone Song recordings produced by Tony Bongiovi Song recordings produced by Tommy Ramone Surf rock songs 1977 songs Songs about comics Songs about musicians Songs about punk Songs about fictional female characters Sire Records singles