1977 Punk Anthem 'Rockaway Beach' Named 17th Best Summer Song by Rolling Stone

Hey, ho, let's go ... to the beach! The Ramones' 1977 classic "Rockaway Beach" has been ranked No. 17 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest summer songs of all time.

The Ramones changed punk rock forever with the release of their self-titled debut album, made up of short hard rock songs sped up past 160 beats per minute - a far cry from the era of '60s surf rock, like the Beach Boys. Nonetheless, the Ramones recorded their own spin on a surf rock song and released in on their third album, Rocket to Russia, in 1977.

"It's a surfing-type song so we wanted to get a surfing sound on it," Johnny Ramone told Louder. The same surf rock stylings are also present on "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," another single from Rocket to Russia. Joey Ramone actually referred to "Sheena" as "the first surf/punk rock/teenage rebellion song."

Rockaway Beach is situated on a peninsula as deep in Queens as you can get, tucked away at the last few stops on the A train, right next to JFK airport. It takes about an hour and a half to get there from Manhattan - or really from anywhere in the city - but as Queens natives, the Ramones already had a fondness for the urban escape.

Thus, "Rockaway Beach" evokes carefree summer fun in an almost bubblegum pop sort of way. "The imagery puts you right in the middle of a hot New York summer in the mid- to late '70s, and it's easy to feel as jubilant as the song (and Ramone) does," wrote Gina Boldman in her review for AllMusic.

Rocket to Russia even contains a cover of one of the most popular surf rock songs of all time: "Surfin' Bird" by the Trashmen. Slantwrites that the album is "as likely to put a smile on one's face and a bounce in one's Chucks in 2017 as they were 40 years ago."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 2:16 PM.