While he was in the band, Richie Ramone was openly praised for his songwriting by Joey Ramone: "We wanted [Richie] to feel a part of the band. We never let the drummer write before, because John, Dee Dee and I felt like we were the band. Marc Bell would try to give us songs, but they weren't any good -- he wouldn't even write them, his brother would. But Richie's a regular Phil Collins.".