THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! The Paley Brothers and Ramones, "Come On Let's Go"

Expanded from previous posts, this is not part of my current book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).

An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST  RECORD EVER MADE!

THE PALEY BROTHERS AND RAMONES: Come On Let's Go

Written by Ritchie Valens

Produced by Earle Mankey and Tommy Erdelyi

Single, Sire Records, 1978

The combined forces of the Paley Brothers (actual siblings Andy Paley and Jonathan Paley) and Ramones (non-blood brudders-in-arms Johnny Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, and Tommy Ramone, with lead singer Joey Ramone out on medical leave) provided me with my second-hand introduction to Ritchie Valens's fantastic 1958 debut hit "Come On, Let's Go." As much as I came to dig the Valens original, I regard the Paley/Ramones cover version as definitive.

The track was originally issued in 1978 as a Paley Brothers 45, but I knew it from the soundtrack of the Ramones' 1979 movie Rock 'n' Roll High School. I don't remember whether I bought that album right before or shortly after first seeing the film in a crowded nightclub called Uncle Sam's on July 6th of '79, a Friday at the end of a week from Hell. The screening preceded lives sets from the Flashcubes and the Ramones themselves, and lemme tell ya, that's how ya celebrate a rock 'n' roll movie. 

I was nineteen years old. I think I bought the album after seeing the film, though it could have been the other way around. It became one of my go-to albums that yin-and-yang summer of '79. Syracuse's 95X had been playing the movie's title track, so I definitely at least heard that song prior to seeing the movie (and to hearing the Ramones include it in their live set). The LP included great stuff by Devo, Alice Cooper, Brownsville Station, Chuck Berry, Nick Lowe, and Eddie and the Hot Rods, the film's star (and my newest crush) P. J. Soles warbling her version of "Rock 'n' Roll High School," less interesting (to me) selections from Eno and Todd Rundgren, some live Ramones cuts, and two new Ramones studio tracks heard in the film, the lovely ballad (Ballad...?!) "I Want You Around" and, of course, "Rock 'n' Roll High School." It did not include the Paul McCartney, MC5, and Velvet Underground songs played within the film itself. It did include "Come On Let's Go," its credit reversed to "Ramones with the Paley Brothers." Sorry boys; gotta give top billing to the stars of the picture.

The track was recorded in 1978, when Joey Ramone was sidelined by an injury. During the interviews for my book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones, Joey recalled, "It was a single before it was on the soundtrack. I was laid up, and John and Tommy and Dee Dee, they did the track with the Paley Brothers singin’ the lead. It sounded very Everly Brothersish. I thought it came out great."

Johnny Ramone also remembered the circumstances of the recording. "We negotiated a hundred bucks each [laughs], big money. And I said, 'Great! Hundred bucks for the night here, I’ll go in and do it.' Went in, put the record on, had Tommy figure out how to play it, [and he] showed me how to play it. I think I did two takes and said, 'That’s it, that’s as good as I’m gonna play it. I’m done.' And it came out good. The faster you do it, the better it comes out."

"Come On Let's Go" was also the first time I recall hearing the Paley Brothers, and it was the only Paley Brothers performance I knew for years thereafter. It's weird that this one-off collaboration with the Ramones is likely the Paley Brothers' best-known track. The Paley Brothers seemed destined for stardom, with the right looks and the right hooks--"Come Out And Play" and "Ecstasy" should have been huge, huge hits--but we all know that fame and acclaim aren't always awarded fairly. Together and separately, the Paley Brothers nonetheless built a body of work celebrated by the pop fans who love it.

Andy Paley passed in November of 2024. I got to see him perform on two occasions, on consecutive evenings in 2022. Among Paley's mile-high stack of pop music accomplishments, he was a musical co-conspirator with Syracuse's favorite son Tom Kenny. Tom is the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants and the coolest guy that anyone anywhere has ever known. Tom 'n' Andy worked together on music for SpongeBob SquarePants and in the kickass live combo Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas.

In 2022, Tom Kenny was inducted into The SAMMYs (Syracuse Area Music Awards) Hall of Fame. And Tom brought his pal Andy and the rest of their Hi-Seas to Syracuse to participate in the celebration. The Flashcubes joined Tom 'n' Andy on stage at The SAMMYS to plug in and let loose on two songs, beginning with a cover of Eddie and the Hot Rods' power pop classic "Do Anything You Wanna Do."

After "Do Anything You Wanna Do," Tom told the story of seeing the Flashcubes play with the Ramones at that above-mentioned 7/6/1979 Uncle Sam's gig with Rock 'n' Roll High School. In the aftermath of that unforgettable evening at Uncle Sam's, Tom made a beeline for Gerber Music to snag a copy of the Rock 'n' Roll High School soundtrack LP, thus adding "Come On Let's Go" by the Paley Brothers and Ramones to the Tom Kenny home library. At The SAMMYS, Tom referred to the track as the only time the Ramones ever backed up another artist on that artist's record. And then Tom asked Andy when he and his brother recorded the track. "1979," Paley replied. Tom then asked Andy when was the last time he had performed the song. "1979." *

*(Yeah, I know the single of "Come On Let's Go" came out in '78, the year before its appearance on the Rock 'n' Roll High School soundtrack LP. Just roll with us, man).

Sure, you saw that coming. I don't care. All I know is, Andy Paley, Tom Kenny, and the Flashcubes then played the damned song before my widened eyes and eager ears. My God, my smile was as bright as the brightest lights. I don't really want to be ninenteen again--there is no amount of reward that could ever make me want to go through all of that mishegas again--but THAT moment, right there at The SAMMYS, was the best part of nineteen brought back to life for a little over two minutes. 

I don't remember whether or not Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas also performed "Come On Let's Go" as part of their amazing club show the night after The SAMMYS. And I guess we should concede that maybe the Paley Brothers' Super-Team Family meeting with the Ramones was just a footnote in Andy Paley's long and storied career. 

But it mattered. It still does. It always will. The rest of the Paley Brothers' brief recording career is likewise ripe for rediscovery, or (for many) just plain discovery. Great, great stuff. You will never convince this unrepentant former nineteen-year-old to relinquish his affection for one track in particular. Brothers, meet brudders. Come on. Let's GO!

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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.