Joan Jett was originally a member of the all-female 70’s rock band The Runaways. After The Runaways split, Jett formed new band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. She had a hard time getting signed due to many in the music world thinking of The Runaways being a novelty act.
By playing pure and simple rock & roll without making an explicit issue of her gender, Joan Jett became a figurehead for several generations of female rockers. Jett's brand of rock & roll is loud and stripped-down, yet with overpowering hooks -- a combination of the Stones' tough, sinewy image and beat, AC/DC chords, and glam rock hooks. As the numerous covers she has recorded show, she adheres both to rock tradition and breaks with it -- she plays classic three-chord rock & roll, yet she also loves the trashy elements (in particular, Gary Glitter) of it as well, and she plays with a defiant sneer. From her first band, the Runaways, through her hit-making days in the '80s with the Blackhearts right until her unexpected revival in the '90s, she hasn't changed her music, yet she's kept her quality control high, making one classic single ("I Love Rock 'n Roll") along the way.
Jett was born in Philadelphia, PA; her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 12 years old. By the time she was 15, she had formed her first band and was performing around town. Kim Fowley, a Los Angeles record producer, discovered the band at one of their gigs and became their manager; soon, he renamed the all-female group the Runaways and secured them a contract with Mercury Records. The band released three albums that never had much commercial success in America, yet were very popular in Japan; the group was popular in both the Los Angeles hard rock and punk scenes, which led to Jett's production of the Germs' first record, (GI). The Runaways group broke up in 1980 and Jett moved to New York to begin a solo career.
Teaming up with producer/manager Kenny Laguna, Jett independently released her self-titled debut album in 1980 in America, since no labels were interested in signing her. The record was a more traditional rock & roll record than the punky Runaways, yet it retained her previous band's defiant attitude. The record sold very well for an independent release, leading to a contract with Boardwalk Records, who reissued the album under the title Bad Reputation; it soon climbed to number 51 on the American charts.
Jett formed the Blackhearts between Bad Reputation and her second album, 1981's I Love Rock-n-Roll; the group included guitarist Ricky Byrd, bassist Gary Ryan, and drummer Lee Crystal. Released at the end of 1981, I Love Rock-n-Roll became her greatest success, sending her into the Top Ten. Originally the B-side of an Arrows single, the title track was an enormous success, spending seven weeks at number one in the spring of 1982. The follow-up single, a version of Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover," went Top Ten as well; a single of Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)," taken from the Bad Reputation album, reached number 20 in the summer of 1982. Album, released in 1983, went gold yet had no hits that compared with either "I Love Rock 'n Roll" or "Crimson and Clover."
Jett starred in Paul Schrader's 1987 film Light of Day, which featured the Top 40 title song, yet she didn't have another Top Ten hit until 1988, when "I Hate Myself for Loving You," taken from the Up Your Alley album, hit number eight; the album became her second platinum record. After the album's success, her career had another slow period, with 1990's all-covers album The Hit List making it to number 36 and 1991's Notorious failing to chart. Between Notorious and 1994's Pure and Simple, a new generation of female rockers came of age and everyone from hard alternative rockers like L7 to the minimalist, riot grrrl punk rockers like Bikini Kill claimed Jett and the Runaways as an influence. As a consequence, Pure and Simple received more press and positive reviews than any of her albums since the mid-'80s. In 1995, Jett recorded the live album Evilstig with the remaining members of the Gits, a Seattle punk rock band whose lead singer, Mia Zapata, was raped and murdered in 1993. Jett reunited with the Blackhearts for the 1999 album Fetish, and in 2006 Sinner, a return to her punk roots (and ten of whose 14 songs were found on the 2004 Japanese-only record Naked), came out.
Band Members
Ricky Byrd : Guitar, Chorals
Lee Crystal : Drums
Joan Jett : Vocals, Guitar
Gary Ryan : Bass, Chorals
Discography
Warped Tour Bootleg Series 2006 2006
Sinner 2006
Fetish 1999
Glorious Results of a Misspent You [Bonus Tracks] 1998
Bad Reputation [Bonus Tracks] [Enhanced] 1998
New Yorker Presents Out Loud 1997
Fit to Be Tied: Great Hits by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 1997
House of Bossa Nova 1997
One Night Stand [Polygram] 1997
House of Samba, Vol. 1 1997
Complete Irving Berlin Songbooks 1997
House of Samba, Vol. 2 1997
Fit To Be Tied: Great Hits By Joan Jett And The Black Hearts 1997
Evil Stig 1995
Pure And Simple 1994
Flower Drum Song [London Cast] 1994
Flashback 1994
Florida Funk Bass, Bass, Bass & Mo Bass 1994
The Hit List 1990
One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure 1990
Up Your Alley 1988
Good Music 1986
Album/Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth 1983
Album 1983
Bad Reputation 1981
I Love Rock N' Roll 1981
I Love Rock & Roll 1981
Listen To Joan Jett and The Blackhearts Music!
Watch Joan Jett and the Blackheart Video!
I Love Rock n' Roll
I Hate Myself For Loving You
Do You Wanna Touch
Crimson and Clover
Bad reputation
Cherrie Bomb
Real Wild Child
A.C.D.C
By playing pure and simple rock & roll without making an explicit issue of her gender, Joan Jett became a figurehead for several generations of female rockers. Jett's brand of rock & roll is loud and stripped-down, yet with overpowering hooks -- a combination of the Stones' tough, sinewy image and beat, AC/DC chords, and glam rock hooks. As the numerous covers she has recorded show, she adheres both to rock tradition and breaks with it -- she plays classic three-chord rock & roll, yet she also loves the trashy elements (in particular, Gary Glitter) of it as well, and she plays with a defiant sneer. From her first band, the Runaways, through her hit-making days in the '80s with the Blackhearts right until her unexpected revival in the '90s, she hasn't changed her music, yet she's kept her quality control high, making one classic single ("I Love Rock 'n Roll") along the way.
Jett was born in Philadelphia, PA; her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 12 years old. By the time she was 15, she had formed her first band and was performing around town. Kim Fowley, a Los Angeles record producer, discovered the band at one of their gigs and became their manager; soon, he renamed the all-female group the Runaways and secured them a contract with Mercury Records. The band released three albums that never had much commercial success in America, yet were very popular in Japan; the group was popular in both the Los Angeles hard rock and punk scenes, which led to Jett's production of the Germs' first record, (GI). The Runaways group broke up in 1980 and Jett moved to New York to begin a solo career.
Teaming up with producer/manager Kenny Laguna, Jett independently released her self-titled debut album in 1980 in America, since no labels were interested in signing her. The record was a more traditional rock & roll record than the punky Runaways, yet it retained her previous band's defiant attitude. The record sold very well for an independent release, leading to a contract with Boardwalk Records, who reissued the album under the title Bad Reputation; it soon climbed to number 51 on the American charts.
Jett formed the Blackhearts between Bad Reputation and her second album, 1981's I Love Rock-n-Roll; the group included guitarist Ricky Byrd, bassist Gary Ryan, and drummer Lee Crystal. Released at the end of 1981, I Love Rock-n-Roll became her greatest success, sending her into the Top Ten. Originally the B-side of an Arrows single, the title track was an enormous success, spending seven weeks at number one in the spring of 1982. The follow-up single, a version of Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover," went Top Ten as well; a single of Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)," taken from the Bad Reputation album, reached number 20 in the summer of 1982. Album, released in 1983, went gold yet had no hits that compared with either "I Love Rock 'n Roll" or "Crimson and Clover."
Jett starred in Paul Schrader's 1987 film Light of Day, which featured the Top 40 title song, yet she didn't have another Top Ten hit until 1988, when "I Hate Myself for Loving You," taken from the Up Your Alley album, hit number eight; the album became her second platinum record. After the album's success, her career had another slow period, with 1990's all-covers album The Hit List making it to number 36 and 1991's Notorious failing to chart. Between Notorious and 1994's Pure and Simple, a new generation of female rockers came of age and everyone from hard alternative rockers like L7 to the minimalist, riot grrrl punk rockers like Bikini Kill claimed Jett and the Runaways as an influence. As a consequence, Pure and Simple received more press and positive reviews than any of her albums since the mid-'80s. In 1995, Jett recorded the live album Evilstig with the remaining members of the Gits, a Seattle punk rock band whose lead singer, Mia Zapata, was raped and murdered in 1993. Jett reunited with the Blackhearts for the 1999 album Fetish, and in 2006 Sinner, a return to her punk roots (and ten of whose 14 songs were found on the 2004 Japanese-only record Naked), came out.
Band Members
Ricky Byrd : Guitar, Chorals
Lee Crystal : Drums
Joan Jett : Vocals, Guitar
Gary Ryan : Bass, Chorals
Discography
Warped Tour Bootleg Series 2006 2006
Sinner 2006
Fetish 1999
Glorious Results of a Misspent You [Bonus Tracks] 1998
Bad Reputation [Bonus Tracks] [Enhanced] 1998
New Yorker Presents Out Loud 1997
Fit to Be Tied: Great Hits by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 1997
House of Bossa Nova 1997
One Night Stand [Polygram] 1997
House of Samba, Vol. 1 1997
Complete Irving Berlin Songbooks 1997
House of Samba, Vol. 2 1997
Fit To Be Tied: Great Hits By Joan Jett And The Black Hearts 1997
Evil Stig 1995
Pure And Simple 1994
Flower Drum Song [London Cast] 1994
Flashback 1994
Florida Funk Bass, Bass, Bass & Mo Bass 1994
The Hit List 1990
One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure 1990
Up Your Alley 1988
Good Music 1986
Album/Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth 1983
Album 1983
Bad Reputation 1981
I Love Rock N' Roll 1981
I Love Rock & Roll 1981
Listen To Joan Jett and The Blackhearts Music!
Watch Joan Jett and the Blackheart Video!
I Love Rock n' Roll
I Hate Myself For Loving You
Do You Wanna Touch
Crimson and Clover
Bad reputation
Cherrie Bomb
Real Wild Child
A.C.D.C
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