Autobiography of Ramone to come out

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Johnny Ramone of the New York band the Ramones tells the story of his life -- eight years after his death -- as his autobiography is finally out, his wife says.

Ramone, born John Cummings, began writing "Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone" after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer from which he died in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine reported this week.

"It is a really powerful book because his whole life has gone before him and he knows it's going to come to an end, and he really needs to tell everybody what he's feeling inside, so that's what makes it so amazing," Ramone's widow, Linda said. "That is the biggest, most powerful thing, writing a book when you know you're dying."

She said legal and other problems after Ramone died prevented an earlier publishing of the 176 page book about Ramone's childhood memories, health battles and battles for acceptance in the punk scene, Rolling Stone said.

The punk band came together in 1974 with the members adopting the surname "Ramone" and dressing in ripped blue jeans and leather jackets as homage to 1950s rock stars, the BBC reported.

Linda Ramone said Commando, set for an April release, consists entirely of her husband's words.

"It didn't make Johnny Ramone's book more powerful by having other people in the book talking about him," she said. "This is nobody else's story."