Maria Is a Punk Rocker

Among several biographical details that CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo shares in the network’s new "I am CNBC" ad campaign (see cover story)—such as the fact that she plays the accordion—one in particular requires some explanation.

When Bartiromo says, "I’m the subject of a pop song," some may recall that she inspired punk legend Joey Ramone to write a song about her.

"Most people don’t know that Joey Ramone was an avid and smart investor," Bartiromo said while shooting the promo campaign.

Maria Bartiromo on Joey Ramone from Broadcasting & Cable on Vimeo.

Back in the days of the dot-com boom, Ramone began e-mailing her, asking her thoughts about Intel and AOL. Thinking he wasn’t really Ramone, she ignored him. But eventually the two became e-mail buddies.

One day, he e-mailed that he’d written a song for her and invited her to come to CBGB, the now-defunct New York club, to hear him perform it at a midnight show. Since she had to be on-air at 7 a.m, she declined. But she sent a camera crew to tape it and secured Ramone’s promise to perform the song live on CNBC. Not long after, however, Ramone died of lymphoma.

"He never told me how sick he was," she said. "I regret…not staying up all night that night and going and seeing him sing my song."