Joan Jett
Encyclopedia
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist
, singer, songwriter
, producer and actress.
She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
", which was #1 on the Billboard
Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular recordings including "Crimson and Clover
", "I Hate Myself for Loving You
", "Do You Want to Touch Me
", "Light of Day
", "Love Is All Around", "Bad Reputation", and "Little Liar".
Her musical and songwriting approach is heavily influenced by the hard-edged, hard beat-driven rhythms common to many rock bands of her native Philadelphia, often featuring lyrics surrounding themes of lost love, criticisms of insincerity, the quest for authenticity, as well as the struggles and resolutions of the American middle class
. She has three albums that have been certified Platinum
or Gold
, and she has been referred to as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" many times during her career.
in Wynnewood
, a suburb
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. She moved to Rockville, Maryland
, in 1967 where she attended Randolph Junior High
and Wheaton High School
. In her teens, Jett would sneak out at night to go to concerts with friends. She got her first guitar for Christmas from her parents at the age of 13, and she mostly spent time after that writing songs. Joan initially took some guitar lessons, but quit soon after when the instructor kept trying to teach her folk songs. She also became involved with a bartender at a club from the town, at which point her family then relocated to the city of West Covina
, California, in Los Angeles County, providing Jett the opportunity to pursue her musical endeavors.
In Los Angeles, Joan interacted with some of her idols, including Suzi Quatro
, one of the first female rock musicians who played an instrument on stage. Quatro was vital to Joan's career, and Joan adopted many of Suzi's qualities including her shag haircut
and style. Jett would quietly wait in the lobby of various hotels that Suzi was staying in during her US tours, just to catch a glimpse of her. She wore wooden platform shoes with "Suzi Quatro" carved into the side. Her favorite night spot was Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco
. Joan was further introduced to the glam-rock
style she so adored as this genre was explosive in the UK and Europe
, but never quite took off in the US. Rodney's was the only place Jett could hear this style of music, and it certainly helped develop her image.
along with drummer Sandy West
. Micki Steele (who was later replaced), Jackie Fox
, Lita Ford
, and Cherie Currie
completed the line-up. While Currie initially fronted the band, Jett shared some lead vocals, played rhythm guitar
and wrote or co-wrote a lot of the band's material along with Ford, West and Currie. The band recorded five LP
s, with Live In Japan
becoming one of the biggest-selling imports in U.S. and U.K. history. The band toured around the world and some of their opening acts included Cheap Trick
, Van Halen
and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
. They found success abroad, especially in Japan
. In 2010, The Runaways
, a movie about Joan Jett's band, was made, starring Kristen Stewart
as Jett and Dakota Fanning
as Cherie Currie.
While The Runaways were popular in Europe
, Asia
, Australia
, Canada
and South America
, they could not garner the same level of success in the U.S. After Currie, the lead singer, left the band, the band released two more albums with Jett handling the lead vocals: Waitin' for the Night
and And Now... The Runaways
. Altogether they produced five albums from 1975 until they disbanded in spring of 1979 due to musical differences.
Soon after, Jett produced The Germs
' first and only album (GI)
.
' Paul Cook
and Steve Jones
(one of which was an early version of The Arrows' "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
").
Later that year, she returned to Los Angeles, where she began fulfilling an obligation of the Runaways' to complete a film—loosely based on the band's career—called We're All Crazee Now! Three actresses required to stand in for her departed band members included the iconic cult star Rainbeaux Smith
, who was also a rock drummer. While working on the project, Jett met songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna, who was hired by Toby Mamis to help Jett with writing some tracks for the film. They became friends and decided to work together and she relocated to Long Beach, New York
where Kenny Laguna was based. The plug was pulled on the project halfway through shooting with Jett being ill, but in 1984, after Jett had become a major star, producers looked for a way to make use of the footage from the incomplete film. Bits of the original footage of Jett were used in a completely different project, an underground movie called DuBeat-Eo, never commercially released, produced by Alan Sacks.
Jett and Laguna entered The Who
’s Ramport Studios with the latter at the helm. Jett's self-titled solo debut was released in Europe on May 17, 1980. In the US, after the album was rejected by 23 major labels, Jett and Laguna released it independently on their new Blackheart Records
label, which they started with Laguna's daughter's college savings. Laguna remembers, "We couldn't think of anything else to do, but print up records ourselves", and that's how Blackheart Records started.
With Laguna's assistance, Jett formed the Blackhearts. She placed an ad in the L.A. Weekly "looking for three good men." John Doe
of X sat in on bass
for the auditions held at S.I.R. studios in Los Angeles. He mentioned a local bass player, Gary Ryan, who had recently been crashing on his couch. Ryan was part of the L.A. punk scene and had played bass with local artists Top Jimmy
and Rik L. Rik. He had been a fan of the Runaways and Jett for years. Jett recognized him at the audition and he was in. Ryan in turn recommended guitarist Eric Ambel
, who was also at the time part of Rik L. Rik. The final addition to the original Blackhearts was drummer Danny "Furious" O'Brien, formerly of the infamous San Francisco band The Avengers
. This line-up played several gigs at the Golden Bear and Whisky a Go Go
in Hollywood before embarking on their first European tour which consisted of an extensive tour of the Netherlands, and a few key shows in England including the Marquee in London.
Upon returning to the States, Jett, Ryan, and Ambel moved to Long Beach
, New York. O'Brien stayed behind in England to pursue other interests. Auditions were set up and Lee Crystal, formerly of The Boyfriends and Sylvain Sylvain
, became the new drummer. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts then toured throughout the US and built quite a following in New York. Jett and Laguna soon used their personal savings to press up copies of the Joan Jett album and set up their own system of independent distribution, sometimes selling the albums out of the trunk of Laguna's Cadillac
at the end of each concert. Laguna was unable to keep up with demand for her album. Eventually, old friend and founder of Casablanca Records
, Neil Bogart
, made a joint venture with Laguna and signed Jett to his new label, Boardwalk Records
and re-released the Joan Jett album as Bad Reputation
. After a year of touring and recording, The Blackhearts recorded a new album entitled I Love Rock 'n Roll for the label. Ambel was replaced by local guitarist Ricky Byrd during the recording.
With Byrd on guitar, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts recorded their hit album. The new single was a re-recording of the title track, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
", which in the first half of 1982 was number one on the Billboard Hot 100
for seven weeks in a row. It is Billboard’s #56 song of all time.
A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours with The Police
, Queen
, and Aerosmith
, among others. She was among the first English-speaking rock acts to appear in Panama
and the Dominican Republic
.
After receiving her own MTV
New Year's Eve
special, Jett beat out a number of contenders to appear in the movie Light of Day
with Michael J. Fox
. Bruce Springsteen
wrote the song "Light of Day
" especially for the movie, and her performance was critically acclaimed. It was about this time that Ryan and Crystal left the Blackhearts. They were soon replaced by the powerful rhythm section of Thommy Price
and Kasim Sulton
. Later that year, Jett released Good Music, which featured appearances by The Beach Boys
, The Sugarhill Gang
and singer Darlene Love
.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts became the first rock band to perform a series of shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
on Broadway
, breaking the record at the time for the fastest ticket sell-out. Her next release, Up Your Alley
, went multi-platinum and was followed by The Hit List
, which was an album consisting of cover songs. During this time, Jett co-wrote the song "House of Fire
", which appeared on Alice Cooper
's 1989 album Trash.
Her 1991 release Notorious
, which featured The Replacements' Paul Westerberg
and former Billy Idol bassist Phil Feit, was the last with Sony
/CBS
as Jett switched to Warner Brothers. A CD single of "Let's Do It" featuring Jett and Westerberg was also released during this time and appeared in the song credits for the movie Tank Girl
. In 1993, Jett and Laguna released Flashback, a compilation of various songs on their own Blackheart Records
.
Jett produced several bands prior to releasing her debut and her label Blackheart Records released recordings from varied artists such as thrash metal
band Metal Church
and rapper
Big Daddy Kane
.
The press touted Jett as the "Godmother of Punk
" and the "Original Riot Grrrl
." In 1994, the Blackhearts released the well-received Pure and Simple
, which featured tracks written with Babes in Toyland's
Kat Bjelland
, L7's
Donita Sparks
and Bikini Kill
's Kathleen Hanna
.
Jett returned to producing for the band Circus Lupus
in 1992 and again, in 1994, for Bikini Kill
. This recording was the New Radio EP for which she also played and sang back-up vocals. The Riot Grrrl
movement started in the 1990s, with Bikini Kill as a representative band, and many of these women credited Jett as a role model and inspiration.
In 1997 Joan Jett was featured on the We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute record. She performed a cover of the Johnny O'Keefe
song "Wild One
" (or "Real Wild Child").
Near the end of the 1990s she worked with members of the punk band The Gits
, whose lead singer and lyricist, Mia Zapata
, had been raped and murdered in 1993. The results of their collaboration together was a live LP, Evil Stig and a single, "Bob", whose earnings were contributed to the investigation of Zapata's murder. To this end, the band and Jett appeared on the TV show America's Most Wanted
, appealing to the public for information. The case was solved in 2004, when Zapata's murderer, Jesus Mezquia, was brought to trial and convicted.
Jett performed "I Love Rock 'n Roll" with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
at Madison Square Garden
in New York City on December 19, 2005.
Jett is a guest artist on Marky Ramone
's solo album Start of the Century on the track "Don't Blame Me".
She is a guest vocalist on Peaches
' album Impeach My Bush
on the tracks "Boys Want to Be Her" and "You Love It".
At an October 2001 9/11 benefit in Red Bank, New Jersey, Jett and Springsteen appeared together on stage for the first time and played "Light Of Day". Jett, overcome with emotion, declared it one of the greatest moments in her career.
In 2004, Jett and Laguna produced "No Apologies" by Warped Tour
favorite The Eyeliners
, after signing them. Jett also guested on the track "Destroy" and made a cameo appearance in the music video.
In 2005, Jett discovered Cleveland punk rockers The Vacancies. She and Laguna signed the band and produced their second album, A Beat Missing or a Silence Added (reaching the top 20 in CMJ Music Charts) and their third album in 2007, Tantrum.
In 2005, she was recruited by Steven Van Zandt
to host her own radio show on Van Zandt's Underground Garage radio channel on Sirius Satellite Radio
. She hosted a four-hour show titled Joan Jett's Radio Revolution, broadcast every Saturday and Sunday. The program moved from Sirius 25 to Sirius 28 shortly before being canceled in June 2008.
In 2005, Jett and Laguna celebrated the 25th anniversary of Blackheart Records with a sellout show at Manhattan
's Webster Hall, which featured their groups The Eyeliners and The Vacancies as openers to the headlining act, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
In June 2006, Joan Jett released her album, Sinner
, on her own label, Blackheart Records. To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006 Warped Tour
and on a fall 2006 tour with Eagles of Death Metal
. Various other bands like Antigone Rising, Valient Thorr
, The Vacancies, Throw Rag and Riverboat Gamblers were to have joined the tour for a handful of dates each.
Jett sang a duet with Chase Noles on "Tearstained Letters", a song on the Heart Attacks' 2006 album, Hellbound and Heartless.
A Joan Jett video with Paul, Paul Jr. and Mikey Teutul of the Learning Channel
show American Chopper
aired on January 14, 2007. The making of that video was presented in a segment of the show that aired on The Learning Channel on February 22, 2007. In late June, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performed at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, following a Florida Marlins
baseball game.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts headlined the Albuquerque, New Mexico
Freedom Fourth celebration on July 4, 2007, with an estimated crowd of 65,000 in attendance at the annual outdoor event.
In November 2007, Jett and the Blackhearts appeared with Motörhead and Alice Cooper
in a UK arena tour, that leg constituting a "reconciliation" of sorts with Jett's former personal manager, Toby Mamis, now the co-manager of Alice Cooper, and Jett opened eight American shows on Aerosmith
's 2007 World Tour
.
Following The Dave Clark Five's
induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
, on March 10, 2008, Jett, as part of the ceremony, closed the program with a performance of the DC5's 1964 hit "Bits and Pieces." She was introduced by actor Tom Hanks
, who said, "Ladies and gentlemen — at one time, if I had been lucky, one of the most beautiful 'Mrs. Tom Hanks' you can imagine, but I'm not complainin' — Joan Jett!"
Jett and the Blackhearts appeared on several dates of the True Colors Tour 2008. in the summer of 2008. She opened for Def Leppard
in August.
On April 24, 2010, it was announced on Green Day
's official website that Jett would be supporting them on their summer European tour.
In June 2010, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts opened for Green Day on their UK tour alongside acts such as Frank Turner
and Paramore
.
The group was the opening act for Aerosmith's September 2010 Canadian tour.
Joan Jett and The Blackhearts were part of the lineup for Australia's The Falls Music & Arts Festival, December 29 through January 1, 2010, in Australia.
, which chronicled the Runaways' career. Floria Sigismondi
, who directed videos for Marilyn Manson
, the White Stripes and David Bowie
, wrote and directed. Production of the movie began filming around Twilight
s Kristen Stewart
's filming schedule, (i.e. of the sequels New Moon and Eclipse). Stewart played Joan Jett in the film. In order to prepare for the role, Stewart met Jett around the 08/09 New Year. In an interview, Stewart revealed that she hoped to be able to sing some of the songs in the film. The film explores the friendship between Jett and Runaways' lead singer, Cherie Currie
, played by Dakota Fanning
, and premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 24, 2010. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts appeared at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, at Harry-O's, for The Runaways promotion, which was also attended by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.
March 2010 saw the release of a 2-CD Greatest Hits album with 4 newly re-recorded songs, 3 of which are Runaways hits, and one a track from her I Love Rock 'N' Roll album. March 2010 also saw the release of a hardcover biography and picture book, spanning her career from the Runaways to the present day.
She also toured in Lewiston, Idaho's "Rockin on the River" music festival held in Clarkston, Washington.
) became an anthem in women's sports and was used by the NCAA to promote the Women's Final Four, as well as the song "Unfinished Business" which was never commercially released. "Love Is All Around" went into radio play and became the number one requested song without an existing (support) CD. Jett supplied theme songs for the ESPN
X-Games premiere and has contributed music to all their games since. At Cal Ripken Jr.'s request, she sang the national anthem
, at the Baltimore Orioles
game in which he tied Lou Gehrig
's record for consecutive games played. The melody for her song "I Hate Myself For Loving You" is used as the theme music for NBC Sunday Night Football
with re-worked lyrics and retitled "Waiting All Day For Sunday Night". Jett has also been a consistent supporter of the US Armed Forces, has toured for the USO for over 20 years, and even played West Point. On May 15, 2006, Jett visited the Pentagon
, and many photographs were taken with personnel.
released a parody of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
" entitled "I Love Rocky Road
," changing the singer's passion for rock music with that for ice cream
. Yankovic's parody covered Jett's version completely, save for her guitar riffs which were replaced by Yankovic's accordion
.
The comic strip Bloom County
included a character named Tess Turbo. Her band was The Blackheads.
, performing "Bad Reputation" with the Blackhearts at The Ritz
in New York City. She made her acting debut in 1987, co-starring with Gena Rowlands
and Michael J. Fox
in the Paul Schrader
film Light of Day
. She appeared in independent films, including The Sweet Life and Boogie Boy
.
During the 1990s, she appeared on the sitcom Ellen, performing the title song. In 1992, she was the guest star on an episode of TV's Highlander: The Series
, the first musician to guest star in the series.
The 1999 show Freaks and Geeks
used the song "Bad Reputation" as the opening theme.
In 2000, Jett appeared in the Broadway
production of The Rocky Horror Show
in the role of Columbia. That same year, Jett appeared on Walker, Texas Ranger
as an ex-CIA agent turned assassin hired to kill Walker and Alex.
In 2002, Jett appeared in the film By Hook or by Crook in the role of News Interviewee.
From 2000 to 2003, to support work by first time filmmakers and the indie film business, Jett hosted a showcase of new film and video shorts, Independent Eye, for Maryland Public Television
.
In 2008, Jett made a cameo appearance in Darren Lynn Bousman
's rock opera/file Repo! The Genetic Opera
as the guitarist in Shilo's room during the piece "Seventeen". In February 2008, she made a cameo appearance in Jimmy Kimmel
's popular video skit, "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck".
On July 13, 2008, she appeared in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent
episode "Reunion
" as a rock and roll talk show host who is murdered.
On March 9, 2010, she appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Accompanied by the Blackhearts, she performed "Cherry Bomb".
On March 24, 2010, she appeared as a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman. Accompanied by the Blackhearts, she performed "Bad Reputation".
On April 14, 2011, she appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show with Miley Cyrus, performing a medley of Joan's biggest hits: "Bad Reputation", "Cherry Bomb" and "I Hate Myself for Loving you".
On November 15, 2011, she appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and performed "Bad Reputation" along with the Foo Fighters
.
in the 2004 election because of his position on the War in Iraq. She has also been a vegetarian for over 20 years.
Studio albums (With the Blackhearts)
Cover albums
Collaboration albums
Fan club albums
Japan-only release
Interviews
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, producer and actress.
She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n Roll" is a rock song written in 1975 by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later made famous by the hit version recorded by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in 1981....
", which was #1 on the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular recordings including "Crimson and Clover
Crimson and Clover
"Crimson and Clover" is a 1968 song by American rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Written by the duo of Tommy James and drummer Peter Lucia Jr., it was intended as a change in direction of the group's sound and composition....
", "I Hate Myself for Loving You
I Hate Myself for Loving You
"I Hate Myself for Loving You" is a 1988 song from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and the first single from the album Up Your Alley. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, Jett's third single to reach the Top 10, but her first since "Crimson and Clover" in 1982...
", "Do You Want to Touch Me
Do You Wanna Touch Me
"Do You Wanna Touch Me", also referred to as "Do You Wanna Touch Me? " is a glam rock song performed by Gary Glitter. The song reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1973, his third successive UK hit. The song represented something of a departure from the "trademark" of the Glitter...
", "Light of Day
Light of Day (song)
"Light of Day", sometimes written as " Light of Day", is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and performed initially by Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox with their fictitious band The Barbusters in the 1987 film Light of Day...
", "Love Is All Around", "Bad Reputation", and "Little Liar".
Her musical and songwriting approach is heavily influenced by the hard-edged, hard beat-driven rhythms common to many rock bands of her native Philadelphia, often featuring lyrics surrounding themes of lost love, criticisms of insincerity, the quest for authenticity, as well as the struggles and resolutions of the American middle class
American middle class
The American middle class is a social class in the United States. While the concept is typically ambiguous in popular opinion and common language use, contemporary social scientists have put forward several, more or less congruent, theories on the American middle class...
. She has three albums that have been certified Platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
or Gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
, and she has been referred to as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" many times during her career.
Early life
Joan Jett was born at Lankenau HospitalLankenau Hospital
Lankenau Hospital is a 351-bed tertiary care, community based teaching hospital located in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. It is a founding member of Main Line Health, a community-based not-for-profit health system, comprising Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital, and Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital...
in Wynnewood
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania is a suburban community located outside of Philadelphia in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Wynnewood was named in 1691 for Dr. Thomas Wynne, William Penn's physician and the first Speaker of the Pennsylvania General...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She moved to Rockville, Maryland
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...
, in 1967 where she attended Randolph Junior High
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
and Wheaton High School
Wheaton High School
Wheaton High School is an American four-year public high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located in the unincorporated Wheaton/Glenmont section of Silver Spring, about 5 miles north of Washington, D.C.....
. In her teens, Jett would sneak out at night to go to concerts with friends. She got her first guitar for Christmas from her parents at the age of 13, and she mostly spent time after that writing songs. Joan initially took some guitar lessons, but quit soon after when the instructor kept trying to teach her folk songs. She also became involved with a bartender at a club from the town, at which point her family then relocated to the city of West Covina
West Covina, California
West Covina is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. Located some east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is a mostly middle class suburb of Los Angeles...
, California, in Los Angeles County, providing Jett the opportunity to pursue her musical endeavors.
In Los Angeles, Joan interacted with some of her idols, including Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, one of the first female rock musicians who played an instrument on stage. Quatro was vital to Joan's career, and Joan adopted many of Suzi's qualities including her shag haircut
Shag (hairstyle)
A shag cut is a hairstyle that has been layered to various lengths. It was created by the barber Paul McGregor. The layers are often feathered at the top and sides. The layers make the hair full around the crown, and the hair thins to fringes around the edges...
and style. Jett would quietly wait in the lobby of various hotels that Suzi was staying in during her US tours, just to catch a glimpse of her. She wore wooden platform shoes with "Suzi Quatro" carved into the side. Her favorite night spot was Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco
Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco
Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco was a widely noted Los Angeles nightclub on the Sunset Strip from late 1972 until early 1975. It catered to the Glam Rock movement.-Early background:...
. Joan was further introduced to the glam-rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
style she so adored as this genre was explosive in the UK and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, but never quite took off in the US. Rodney's was the only place Jett could hear this style of music, and it certainly helped develop her image.
The Runaways
Jett is a founding member of The RunawaysThe Runaways
The Runaways were an American all-girl rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s. The band released four studio albums and one live set during its run. Among its best known songs: "Cherry Bomb", "Queens of Noise", "Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin", "California Paradise"...
along with drummer Sandy West
Sandy West
Sandy West was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and drummer. She was hailed by fans and critics alike to be a groundbreaking musician, as a drummer. She was one of the founding members of The Runaways, the very first teenage, all-girl hard rock band in the 1970s.-Early life:Sandy was...
. Micki Steele (who was later replaced), Jackie Fox
Jackie Fox
Jacqueline Louise Fuchs is an entertainment attorney in Los Angeles, CA. Under her former stage name of Jackie Fox, she was best known as bassist for the teenage, American all-girl rock band, The Runaways...
, Lita Ford
Lita Ford
Lita Ford is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.-Early life:...
, and Cherie Currie
Cherie Currie
Cherie Currie is an American singer, actress and chainsaw artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of The Runaways, a hard rock band from Los Angeles in the mid-to-late 1970s.-Life and career:...
completed the line-up. While Currie initially fronted the band, Jett shared some lead vocals, played rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and wrote or co-wrote a lot of the band's material along with Ford, West and Currie. The band recorded five LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
s, with Live In Japan
Live in Japan (The Runaways album)
Live in Japan is a 1977 live album from The Runaways. The album was never domestically released in the United States, although it was issued in Canada.- A Side :# "Queens of Noise" — 3:19...
becoming one of the biggest-selling imports in U.S. and U.K. history. The band toured around the world and some of their opening acts included Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
. They found success abroad, especially in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In 2010, The Runaways
The Runaways (film)
The Runaways is a 2010 American biographical film about the 1970s all-girl rock band of the same name. The film was written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, who based the screenplay on the book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by the band's original lead vocalist Cherie Currie...
, a movie about Joan Jett's band, was made, starring Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
as Jett and Dakota Fanning
Dakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
as Cherie Currie.
While The Runaways were popular in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, they could not garner the same level of success in the U.S. After Currie, the lead singer, left the band, the band released two more albums with Jett handling the lead vocals: Waitin' for the Night
Waitin' for the Night
Waitin' for the Night is the third studio album from The Runaways released in 1977. This is the first album to feature the group as a quartet, as rhythm guitarist Joan Jett took over lead vocals in the wake of the departure of Cherie Currie for a solo career and Vicki Blue replaced Jackie Fox on...
and And Now... The Runaways
And Now... The Runaways
And Now... The Runaways is the fourth and final studio album by the The Runaways, released in 1979. The album was issued by Cherry Red in the UK...
. Altogether they produced five albums from 1975 until they disbanded in spring of 1979 due to musical differences.
Soon after, Jett produced The Germs
The Germs
The Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. Germs have since reformed in 2005 with Shane...
' first and only album (GI)
(GI)
is the only studio album from American punk band The Germs. The title stands for "Germs Incognito", an alternate name the band used to obtain bookings when their early reputation kept them out of Los Angeles-area clubs...
.
Solo
In the spring of 1979, Jett was in England pursuing a solo career. She recorded three songs there with Sex PistolsSex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
' Paul Cook
Paul Cook
Paul Thomas Cook is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band Sex Pistols.-Early life and career:...
and Steve Jones
Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
(one of which was an early version of The Arrows' "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n Roll" is a rock song written in 1975 by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later made famous by the hit version recorded by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in 1981....
").
Later that year, she returned to Los Angeles, where she began fulfilling an obligation of the Runaways' to complete a film—loosely based on the band's career—called We're All Crazee Now! Three actresses required to stand in for her departed band members included the iconic cult star Rainbeaux Smith
Rainbeaux Smith
Cheryl Lynn "Rainbeaux" Smith was an American actress. She was known for her role in the exploitation film Caged Heat.-Career:...
, who was also a rock drummer. While working on the project, Jett met songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna, who was hired by Toby Mamis to help Jett with writing some tracks for the film. They became friends and decided to work together and she relocated to Long Beach, New York
Long Beach, New York
Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...
where Kenny Laguna was based. The plug was pulled on the project halfway through shooting with Jett being ill, but in 1984, after Jett had become a major star, producers looked for a way to make use of the footage from the incomplete film. Bits of the original footage of Jett were used in a completely different project, an underground movie called DuBeat-Eo, never commercially released, produced by Alan Sacks.
Jett and Laguna entered The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
’s Ramport Studios with the latter at the helm. Jett's self-titled solo debut was released in Europe on May 17, 1980. In the US, after the album was rejected by 23 major labels, Jett and Laguna released it independently on their new Blackheart Records
Blackheart Records
Blackheart Records is an American record label founded by rock musicians Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna. Artists include The Eyeliners, Endless Bummer, Girl in a Coma, the Cute Lepers, the Dollyrots, the Vacancies, and, of course, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts....
label, which they started with Laguna's daughter's college savings. Laguna remembers, "We couldn't think of anything else to do, but print up records ourselves", and that's how Blackheart Records started.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
John Doe (musician)
John Doe is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet and bass player. Doe founded the much-praised L.A. punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span the rock, country and folk music genres...
of X sat in on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
for the auditions held at S.I.R. studios in Los Angeles. He mentioned a local bass player, Gary Ryan, who had recently been crashing on his couch. Ryan was part of the L.A. punk scene and had played bass with local artists Top Jimmy
Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs
Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs were a rock and rhythm and blues band that emerged out of the Los Angeles punk/roots music scene of the late 1970s and early-mid 1980s...
and Rik L. Rik. He had been a fan of the Runaways and Jett for years. Jett recognized him at the audition and he was in. Ryan in turn recommended guitarist Eric Ambel
Eric Ambel
Eric Ambel is a New York City-based guitarist and record producer, originally from Batavia, Illinois. He has worked with a wide range of artists including Steve Earle, the Yayhoos, Del Lords, The Bottle Rockets, Joan Jett, Mojo Nixon, Blood Oranges, Blue Mountain, Freedy Johnston and Mary Lee's...
, who was also at the time part of Rik L. Rik. The final addition to the original Blackhearts was drummer Danny "Furious" O'Brien, formerly of the infamous San Francisco band The Avengers
The Avengers (band)
The Avengers are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in San Francisco, California. Penelope Houston, who has also been a folk musician, is their singer.-Original history:...
. This line-up played several gigs at the Golden Bear and Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
in Hollywood before embarking on their first European tour which consisted of an extensive tour of the Netherlands, and a few key shows in England including the Marquee in London.
Upon returning to the States, Jett, Ryan, and Ambel moved to Long Beach
Long Beach, New York
Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...
, New York. O'Brien stayed behind in England to pursue other interests. Auditions were set up and Lee Crystal, formerly of The Boyfriends and Sylvain Sylvain
Sylvain Sylvain
Sylvain Sylvain is an American rock guitarist, most notable for being a member of the New York Dolls.-Early years:...
, became the new drummer. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts then toured throughout the US and built quite a following in New York. Jett and Laguna soon used their personal savings to press up copies of the Joan Jett album and set up their own system of independent distribution, sometimes selling the albums out of the trunk of Laguna's Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
at the end of each concert. Laguna was unable to keep up with demand for her album. Eventually, old friend and founder of Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...
, Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart was an American record executive. He is perhaps best known as the founder of Casablanca Records, with Peter Guber....
, made a joint venture with Laguna and signed Jett to his new label, Boardwalk Records
Boardwalk Records
Boardwalk Records was a record label founded by Neil Bogart in 1980, after PolyGram acquired his Casablanca Records. The label had a huge hit act with Joan Jett before Neil Bogart died of cancer in 1982...
and re-released the Joan Jett album as Bad Reputation
Bad Reputation (Joan Jett album)
Bad Reputation is the debut solo album by Joan Jett, originally self-released in 1980 as Joan Jett after her previous band The Runaways disbanded, then re-issued on Boardwalk Records in 1981 as Bad Reputation.-Background:...
. After a year of touring and recording, The Blackhearts recorded a new album entitled I Love Rock 'n Roll for the label. Ambel was replaced by local guitarist Ricky Byrd during the recording.
With Byrd on guitar, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts recorded their hit album. The new single was a re-recording of the title track, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n Roll" is a rock song written in 1975 by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later made famous by the hit version recorded by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in 1981....
", which in the first half of 1982 was number one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for seven weeks in a row. It is Billboard’s #56 song of all time.
A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours with The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, among others. She was among the first English-speaking rock acts to appear in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
.
After receiving her own MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
special, Jett beat out a number of contenders to appear in the movie Light of Day
Light of Day
The soundtrack to the film was released in 1987. As a single, "Light of Day" reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received additional album-oriented rock airplay due to the connection of Joan Jett and Bruce Springsteen....
with Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
. Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
wrote the song "Light of Day
Light of Day (song)
"Light of Day", sometimes written as " Light of Day", is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and performed initially by Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox with their fictitious band The Barbusters in the 1987 film Light of Day...
" especially for the movie, and her performance was critically acclaimed. It was about this time that Ryan and Crystal left the Blackhearts. They were soon replaced by the powerful rhythm section of Thommy Price
Thommy Price
Thommy Price is a rock musician from Brooklyn, New York. He's played drums in numerous bands, including Billy Idol, Blue Öyster Cult, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and is an in-demand session drummer.-History:...
and Kasim Sulton
Kasim Sulton
Kasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States...
. Later that year, Jett released Good Music, which featured appearances by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, The Sugarhill Gang
The Sugarhill Gang
The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group, known mostly for their 1979 hit, "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop single to become a Top 40 hit. The song uses the instrumental track from the classic hit "Good Times" by Chic as its foundation....
and singer Darlene Love
Darlene Love
Darlene Love is an American popular music singer and actress. She gained prominence in the 1960s for the song "He's a Rebel," a #1 American single in 1962, and was part of the Phil Spector stable that produced a celebrated Christmas album in 1963....
.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts became the first rock band to perform a series of shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 205 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse, on...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, breaking the record at the time for the fastest ticket sell-out. Her next release, Up Your Alley
Up Your Alley (album)
Up Your Alley is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. This album contains the single "I Hate Myself for Loving You", which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and had been used as the theme song for Sunday Night Football NFL games in America during...
, went multi-platinum and was followed by The Hit List
The Hit List (Joan Jett album)
The Hit List is a cover album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts . The album was released in 1990. All of the tracks are covers of famous songs.-Track listing:...
, which was an album consisting of cover songs. During this time, Jett co-wrote the song "House of Fire
House of Fire
"House of Fire" is a 1989 single by American rock musician Alice Cooper from his 1989 album Trash. It was co-written by rock guitarist Joan Jett and American songwriter Desmond Child....
", which appeared on Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
's 1989 album Trash.
Her 1991 release Notorious
Notorious (Joan Jett album)
Notorious is the seventh studio album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The album was released in 1991.-Track listing:#"Backlash" - 3:28#"Ashes in the Wind" - 4:22...
, which featured The Replacements' Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
and former Billy Idol bassist Phil Feit, was the last with Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
/CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
as Jett switched to Warner Brothers. A CD single of "Let's Do It" featuring Jett and Westerberg was also released during this time and appeared in the song credits for the movie Tank Girl
Tank Girl (film)
Tank Girl is a 1995 science fiction action film loosely based on the Tank Girl comic book created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. It was directed by Rachel Talalay and stars Lori Petty as Rebecca Buck, aka the eponymous Tank Girl, who had originally appeared in the UK comic magazine...
. In 1993, Jett and Laguna released Flashback, a compilation of various songs on their own Blackheart Records
Blackheart Records
Blackheart Records is an American record label founded by rock musicians Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna. Artists include The Eyeliners, Endless Bummer, Girl in a Coma, the Cute Lepers, the Dollyrots, the Vacancies, and, of course, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts....
.
Jett produced several bands prior to releasing her debut and her label Blackheart Records released recordings from varied artists such as thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Metal Church
Metal Church
Metal Church was an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in Seattle, Washington as Shrapnel in 1980. Their first album was released in 1984, and the band's most recent work, This Present Wasteland, was released in 2008....
and rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
.
The press touted Jett as the "Godmother of Punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
" and the "Original Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
." In 1994, the Blackhearts released the well-received Pure and Simple
Pure and Simple (album)
Pure And Simple is the eighth studio album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, released in 1994.-Track listing:#"Go Home" – 2:42#"Eye To Eye" – 3:30#"Spinster" - 2:44...
, which featured tracks written with Babes in Toyland's
Babes in Toyland (band)
Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland , with Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon , who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992...
Kat Bjelland
Kat Bjelland
Katherine "Kat" Bjelland is an American musician who is currently the lead singer-guitarist of the band Katastrophy Wife, and is the former lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Babes in Toyland....
, L7's
L7 (band)
L7 was an American rock band from Los Angeles, that was active from 1985 to 2000. Due to their sound and image, they are often associated with the grunge movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s.-History:...
Donita Sparks
Donita Sparks
Donita Sparks is a vocalist, guitarist and song-writer in Los Angeles, California. In addition to performing with her most recent band Donita Sparks and The Stellar Moments, she is also the co-founder, along with Suzi Gardner, of grunge band L7...
and Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill was an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington in October 1990. The group consisted of vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band is widely considered to be the pioneer of the riot grrrl movement,...
's Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna is an American musician, feminist activist, and punk zine writer. In the early- to mid-1990s she was the lead singer and songwriter of Bikini Kill, before fronting Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s...
.
Later years
Circus Lupus
Circus Lupus was a post-hardcore band based in the area of Washington, DC, U.S.A.. The band originally formed in Madison where one-time Ignition and Soul Side bassist Chris Thomson met guitarist Chris Hamley and drummer Arika Casebolt while attending school...
in 1992 and again, in 1994, for Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill was an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington in October 1990. The group consisted of vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band is widely considered to be the pioneer of the riot grrrl movement,...
. This recording was the New Radio EP for which she also played and sang back-up vocals. The Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
movement started in the 1990s, with Bikini Kill as a representative band, and many of these women credited Jett as a role model and inspiration.
In 1997 Joan Jett was featured on the We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute record. She performed a cover of the Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...
song "Wild One
Wild One (Johnny O'Keefe song)
"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked...
" (or "Real Wild Child").
Near the end of the 1990s she worked with members of the punk band The Gits
The Gits
The Gits were an American punk rock band, formed in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1986. Known for their part in the burgeoning Seattle music scene of the early 1990s, their distinct punk rock sound gained a reputation for its bluesy street punk aesthetic...
, whose lead singer and lyricist, Mia Zapata
Mia Zapata
Mia Katherine Zapata was the lead singer for the Seattle punk band The Gits.-Life and career:Zapata was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky...
, had been raped and murdered in 1993. The results of their collaboration together was a live LP, Evil Stig and a single, "Bob", whose earnings were contributed to the investigation of Zapata's murder. To this end, the band and Jett appeared on the TV show America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
, appealing to the public for information. The case was solved in 2004, when Zapata's murderer, Jesus Mezquia, was brought to trial and convicted.
Jett performed "I Love Rock 'n Roll" with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City on December 19, 2005.
Jett is a guest artist on Marky Ramone
Marky Ramone
Marky Ramone is an American musician. He is best known for being the drummer for the Ramones, but has also played in other notable bands like Dust, Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and the Misfits.Although he is not the original drummer , Marky is the only living...
's solo album Start of the Century on the track "Don't Blame Me".
She is a guest vocalist on Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...
' album Impeach My Bush
Impeach My Bush
Impeach My Bush is the fourth studio album by Canadian recording artist Peaches, released on July 11, 2006 by XL Recordings. Guest appearances on this album include Joan Jett, Josh Homme, Samantha Maloney, and her one-time roommate Feist....
on the tracks "Boys Want to Be Her" and "You Love It".
At an October 2001 9/11 benefit in Red Bank, New Jersey, Jett and Springsteen appeared together on stage for the first time and played "Light Of Day". Jett, overcome with emotion, declared it one of the greatest moments in her career.
In 2004, Jett and Laguna produced "No Apologies" by Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
favorite The Eyeliners
The Eyeliners
The Eyeliners are an American pop punk band from Albuquerque, New Mexico formed in 1995 under the name Psychodrama. In 1996 their name was changed their name to The Eyeliners after having released one single under the Psychodrama name. The group has released EPs on Sympathy for the Record Industry...
, after signing them. Jett also guested on the track "Destroy" and made a cameo appearance in the music video.
In 2005, Jett discovered Cleveland punk rockers The Vacancies. She and Laguna signed the band and produced their second album, A Beat Missing or a Silence Added (reaching the top 20 in CMJ Music Charts) and their third album in 2007, Tantrum.
In 2005, she was recruited by Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt is an Italian-American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve...
to host her own radio show on Van Zandt's Underground Garage radio channel on Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
. She hosted a four-hour show titled Joan Jett's Radio Revolution, broadcast every Saturday and Sunday. The program moved from Sirius 25 to Sirius 28 shortly before being canceled in June 2008.
In 2005, Jett and Laguna celebrated the 25th anniversary of Blackheart Records with a sellout show at Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Webster Hall, which featured their groups The Eyeliners and The Vacancies as openers to the headlining act, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
In June 2006, Joan Jett released her album, Sinner
Sinner (Joan Jett album)
Sinner is the ninth studio album by the American hard rock band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, released June 13, 2006, by Blackheart Records Group. While most of the contents previously appeared on the Japan-only release Naked , some in different mixes, it is her first record of new material...
, on her own label, Blackheart Records. To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006 Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
and on a fall 2006 tour with Eagles of Death Metal
Eagles of Death Metal
Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998 by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. Despite their band name, Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. Hughes stated that a friend was introducing Josh Homme to the death metal genre...
. Various other bands like Antigone Rising, Valient Thorr
Valient Thorr
-History:Valient Thorr began playing together in 2000. Their first show was on Easter of 2001. They released two demos, "Raw" and "We Come From The Morning Star"...
, The Vacancies, Throw Rag and Riverboat Gamblers were to have joined the tour for a handful of dates each.
Jett sang a duet with Chase Noles on "Tearstained Letters", a song on the Heart Attacks' 2006 album, Hellbound and Heartless.
A Joan Jett video with Paul, Paul Jr. and Mikey Teutul of the Learning Channel
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
show American Chopper
American Chopper
American Chopper is a reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul, Sr. and his son Paul Teutul, Jr. , who manufacture custom motorcycles. Orange County Choppers is in Newburgh, New York...
aired on January 14, 2007. The making of that video was presented in a segment of the show that aired on The Learning Channel on February 22, 2007. In late June, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performed at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, following a Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
baseball game.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts headlined the Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
Freedom Fourth celebration on July 4, 2007, with an estimated crowd of 65,000 in attendance at the annual outdoor event.
In November 2007, Jett and the Blackhearts appeared with Motörhead and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
in a UK arena tour, that leg constituting a "reconciliation" of sorts with Jett's former personal manager, Toby Mamis, now the co-manager of Alice Cooper, and Jett opened eight American shows on Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
's 2007 World Tour
Aerosmith World Tour 2007
Aerosmith World Tour 2007 was a concert tour by American hard rock band Aerosmith that saw the band performing outside North America or Japan for the first time in about 8 years , and in some countries, the first time in 14 years...
.
Following The Dave Clark Five's
The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five were an English pop rock group. Their single "Glad All Over" knocked The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK singles charts in January 1964: it eventually peaked at No.6 in the United States in April 1964.They were the second group of the British Invasion,...
induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
, on March 10, 2008, Jett, as part of the ceremony, closed the program with a performance of the DC5's 1964 hit "Bits and Pieces." She was introduced by actor Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, who said, "Ladies and gentlemen — at one time, if I had been lucky, one of the most beautiful 'Mrs. Tom Hanks' you can imagine, but I'm not complainin' — Joan Jett!"
Jett and the Blackhearts appeared on several dates of the True Colors Tour 2008. in the summer of 2008. She opened for Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
in August.
On April 24, 2010, it was announced on Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
's official website that Jett would be supporting them on their summer European tour.
In June 2010, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts opened for Green Day on their UK tour alongside acts such as Frank Turner
Frank Turner
Frank Turner is an English folk/punk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Winchester. Initially the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. To date, Turner has released four solo albums, two rarities...
and Paramore
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York...
.
The group was the opening act for Aerosmith's September 2010 Canadian tour.
Joan Jett and The Blackhearts were part of the lineup for Australia's The Falls Music & Arts Festival, December 29 through January 1, 2010, in Australia.
Current projects
Jett was an executive producer for the film The RunawaysThe Runaways (film)
The Runaways is a 2010 American biographical film about the 1970s all-girl rock band of the same name. The film was written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, who based the screenplay on the book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by the band's original lead vocalist Cherie Currie...
, which chronicled the Runaways' career. Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi is an Italian, naturalised Canadian, photographer and director.Apart from her art exhibitions, she is best known for writing and directing The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning...
, who directed videos for Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
, the White Stripes and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, wrote and directed. Production of the movie began filming around Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
s Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
's filming schedule, (i.e. of the sequels New Moon and Eclipse). Stewart played Joan Jett in the film. In order to prepare for the role, Stewart met Jett around the 08/09 New Year. In an interview, Stewart revealed that she hoped to be able to sing some of the songs in the film. The film explores the friendship between Jett and Runaways' lead singer, Cherie Currie
Cherie Currie
Cherie Currie is an American singer, actress and chainsaw artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of The Runaways, a hard rock band from Los Angeles in the mid-to-late 1970s.-Life and career:...
, played by Dakota Fanning
Dakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
, and premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 24, 2010. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts appeared at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, at Harry-O's, for The Runaways promotion, which was also attended by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.
March 2010 saw the release of a 2-CD Greatest Hits album with 4 newly re-recorded songs, 3 of which are Runaways hits, and one a track from her I Love Rock 'N' Roll album. March 2010 also saw the release of a hardcover biography and picture book, spanning her career from the Runaways to the present day.
She also toured in Lewiston, Idaho's "Rockin on the River" music festival held in Clarkston, Washington.
Other work
Jett, a sports fan, has remained actively involved in the sports world. Her cover of "Love is All Around" (the theme song of The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
) became an anthem in women's sports and was used by the NCAA to promote the Women's Final Four, as well as the song "Unfinished Business" which was never commercially released. "Love Is All Around" went into radio play and became the number one requested song without an existing (support) CD. Jett supplied theme songs for the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
X-Games premiere and has contributed music to all their games since. At Cal Ripken Jr.'s request, she sang the national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
, at the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
game in which he tied Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
's record for consecutive games played. The melody for her song "I Hate Myself For Loving You" is used as the theme music for NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
with re-worked lyrics and retitled "Waiting All Day For Sunday Night". Jett has also been a consistent supporter of the US Armed Forces, has toured for the USO for over 20 years, and even played West Point. On May 15, 2006, Jett visited the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, and many photographs were taken with personnel.
Satire
In 1983, musical satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
released a parody of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n Roll" is a rock song written in 1975 by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later made famous by the hit version recorded by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in 1981....
" entitled "I Love Rocky Road
I Love Rocky Road
"I Love Rocky Road" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic about a man's obsession with rocky road ice cream. It is a parody of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by the band Arrows, which had recently been covered by Joan Jett.-Track listing:...
," changing the singer's passion for rock music with that for ice cream
Rocky road ice cream
Rocky road ice cream is a chocolate flavor. Though there are variations on the flavor, it is traditionally composed of chocolate ice cream, nuts, and marshmallows...
. Yankovic's parody covered Jett's version completely, save for her guitar riffs which were replaced by Yankovic's accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
.
The comic strip Bloom County
Bloom County
Bloom County is an American comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980, until August 6, 1989. It examined events in politics and culture through the viewpoint of a fanciful small town in Middle America, where children often have adult personalities and vocabularies and where...
included a character named Tess Turbo. Her band was The Blackheads.
Film, stage and television appearances
Jett's first appearance on film is in the 1981 live concert film Urgh! A Music WarUrgh! A Music War
Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Magazine, The Go-Go's, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead...
, performing "Bad Reputation" with the Blackhearts at The Ritz
Ritz (rock club)
-History:The Ritz was founded in 1980 by Jerry Brandt on 11th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of New York City. Formerly a ballroom known as Webster Hall, The Ritz still retained some of its previous incarnation's Art Deco style. As a venue, it focused...
in New York City. She made her acting debut in 1987, co-starring with Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands is an American actress of film, stage and television. The four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner is best known for her collaborations with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, in two of which, Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, she gave Academy...
and Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
in the Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
film Light of Day
Light of Day
The soundtrack to the film was released in 1987. As a single, "Light of Day" reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received additional album-oriented rock airplay due to the connection of Joan Jett and Bruce Springsteen....
. She appeared in independent films, including The Sweet Life and Boogie Boy
Boogie Boy
Boogie Boy is a 1998 film featuring Traci Lords as Shonda. It was written and directed by Craig Hamann and produced by Braddon Mendelson. It also stars Mark Dacascos, Emily Lloyd, Jaimz Woolvett, Frederic Forrest, Joan Jett and Linnea Quigley ....
.
During the 1990s, she appeared on the sitcom Ellen, performing the title song. In 1992, she was the guest star on an episode of TV's Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
, the first musician to guest star in the series.
The 1999 show Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season...
used the song "Bad Reputation" as the opening theme.
In 2000, Jett appeared in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
in the role of Columbia. That same year, Jett appeared on Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...
as an ex-CIA agent turned assassin hired to kill Walker and Alex.
In 2002, Jett appeared in the film By Hook or by Crook in the role of News Interviewee.
From 2000 to 2003, to support work by first time filmmakers and the indie film business, Jett hosted a showcase of new film and video shorts, Independent Eye, for Maryland Public Television
Maryland Public Television
Maryland Public Television is a non-profit, state-licensed Public Broadcasting Service non-commercial educational public television state network which serves U.S. state of Maryland. Its six transmitters cover nearly all of the state, plus Washington, D.C...
.
In 2008, Jett made a cameo appearance in Darren Lynn Bousman
Darren Lynn Bousman
Darren Lynn Bousman is an American film director and screenwriter.-Personal life:Bousman was born in Overland Park, Kansas, the son of Nancy and Lynn Bousman. He is a graduate of the Film School at Full Sail University. He attended high school at Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park,...
's rock opera/file Repo! The Genetic Opera
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Repo! The Genetic Opera is a 2008 horror-rock opera musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is based on a play written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich....
as the guitarist in Shilo's room during the piece "Seventeen". In February 2008, she made a cameo appearance in Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian "Jimmy" Kimmel is an American television host and comedian. He is the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late-night talk show that airs on ABC. Prior to that, Kimmel was best known as the co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show and Win Ben Stein's Money...
's popular video skit, "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck".
On July 13, 2008, she appeared in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
episode "Reunion
Reunion (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)
"Reunion" is a seventh season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Plot summary:In this episode, Detectives Logan and Wheeler, along with Captain Ross, investigate the murder of a female host of a Public-access television cable TV rock and roll talk show, found bludgeoned...
" as a rock and roll talk show host who is murdered.
On March 9, 2010, she appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Accompanied by the Blackhearts, she performed "Cherry Bomb".
On March 24, 2010, she appeared as a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman. Accompanied by the Blackhearts, she performed "Bad Reputation".
On April 14, 2011, she appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show with Miley Cyrus, performing a medley of Joan's biggest hits: "Bad Reputation", "Cherry Bomb" and "I Hate Myself for Loving you".
On November 15, 2011, she appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and performed "Bad Reputation" along with the Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
.
Politics
Jett supported Howard DeanHoward Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
in the 2004 election because of his position on the War in Iraq. She has also been a vegetarian for over 20 years.
Accolades and awards
- Jett was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of FameLong Island Music Hall of FameThe Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization whose office is located in Port Jefferson, New York. It was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents as a non profit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York...
in October 2006. - In 2003, Jett was named in the Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
greatest 100 guitarists of all time at number 87. She was one of only two women in this list, the other being Joni MitchellJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
at number 72. - Jett is listed as one of Blenders "hottest women of rock" 21 years after she started The Runaways".
- Joan Jett is honored by Gibson with a signature model of her Melody MakerGibson Melody MakerIn 2007, the Melody Maker became a separate model. It now has a smaller single-coil pickup than the P-90, a wraparound bridge/tailpiece unit, a mahogany neck, and a pickguard similar to the original Melody Maker...
, which is a white double cutaway with one zebra humbucker and "kill" toggle switch. Jett bought her guitar from Eric CarmenEric CarmenEric Howard Carmen is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.He scored numerous hit songs across the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Raspberries , and then with his solo career, including hits such as "All By Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It",...
, following the breakup of the RaspberriesRaspberries (band)Raspberries is an American power pop/pop rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their crisp pop sound, which Allmusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies." The members were known for their...
. - On September 27th, 2011, it was announced that Jett is a nominee for induction to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2012.
Discography
Studio albums as Joan Jett- Joan Jett (1980)
- Bad ReputationBad Reputation (Joan Jett album)Bad Reputation is the debut solo album by Joan Jett, originally self-released in 1980 as Joan Jett after her previous band The Runaways disbanded, then re-issued on Boardwalk Records in 1981 as Bad Reputation.-Background:...
(1981)
Studio albums (With the Blackhearts)
- I Love Rock 'n' Roll (1981)
- AlbumAlbum (Joan Jett album)Album is the third studio album by Joan Jett and the second to feature her backing band The Blackhearts. The album was originally released in 1983. The Cassette Tape version had 2 different issues, the first one was issued in a regular black plastic box MCA MCAC-5437] and a second later version...
(1983) - Glorious Results of a Misspent YouthGlorious Results of a Misspent YouthGlorious Results of a Misspent Youth is the fourth studio album by Joan Jett and the third to feature her backing band The Blackhearts. The album was released in 1984 and reissued in 1998 with seven bonus tracks.-Track listing:...
(1984) - Good Music (1986)
- Up Your AlleyUp Your Alley (album)Up Your Alley is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. This album contains the single "I Hate Myself for Loving You", which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and had been used as the theme song for Sunday Night Football NFL games in America during...
(1988) - NotoriousNotorious (Joan Jett album)Notorious is the seventh studio album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The album was released in 1991.-Track listing:#"Backlash" - 3:28#"Ashes in the Wind" - 4:22...
(1991) - Pure and SimplePure and Simple (album)Pure And Simple is the eighth studio album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, released in 1994.-Track listing:#"Go Home" – 2:42#"Eye To Eye" – 3:30#"Spinster" - 2:44...
(1994) - SinnerSinner (Joan Jett album)Sinner is the ninth studio album by the American hard rock band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, released June 13, 2006, by Blackheart Records Group. While most of the contents previously appeared on the Japan-only release Naked , some in different mixes, it is her first record of new material...
(2006)
Cover albums
- The Hit ListThe Hit List (Joan Jett album)The Hit List is a cover album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts . The album was released in 1990. All of the tracks are covers of famous songs.-Track listing:...
(1990)
Collaboration albums
- Evil StigEvil StigEvil Stig is a studio album released by Evil Stig, which was a new band formed by Joan Jett and The Gits for a series of benefit concerts to fund the investigation into the death of Mia Zapata. The name Evil Stig is developed from Gits Live in reverse...
(with The GitsThe GitsThe Gits were an American punk rock band, formed in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1986. Known for their part in the burgeoning Seattle music scene of the early 1990s, their distinct punk rock sound gained a reputation for its bluesy street punk aesthetic...
) (1995)
Fan club albums
- 19791979 (album)1979 is a Fan Club only album released by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The album was released in 1995.-Track listing:#You Don't Know What You Got#I Want You#You Can't Get Me #I'll Never Get Away#We're All Crazy Now...
(1995)
Japan-only release
- NakedNaked (Joan Jett album)Naked is an album released only in Japan by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The album was released on April 27, 2004.-Track listing:...
(2004)
External links
- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Bad Reputation Nation
- Blackheart Records
Interviews
- Interview: Joan Jett on Sinner
- Joan Jett Interview on The Hour with George StroumboulopoulosGeorge StroumboulopoulosGeorge Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
- Joan Jett interview from PETA2
- Joan Jett interview with SPINSpin (magazine)Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
- Joan Jett interview with The Beachcomber
- Crimson and Clover – Joan Jett interview BEAT