Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - I Love Rock N Roll

Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) 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, the struggles and resolutions of the American middle class. She has 3 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 Venus Zine's 2010 "Queen of Rock" feature, Jett won the Readers' Pick in an online poll ahead of Stevie Nicks and Ann Wilson.

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 was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in October 2006.

In 2003, Jett was named in the Rolling Stone greatest 100 guitarists of all time at number 87. She was one of only two women in this list, the other being Joni Mitchell at number 72.

Jett is listed as one of Blender's "hottest women of rock" 21 years after she started The Runaways.

«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.

The song was originally recorded and released by the Arrows in 1975 on RAK Records, with lead vocals by Alan Merrill and produced by Mickie Most. In an interview with Songfacts, Merrill said he wrote it as "a knee-jerk response to The Rolling Stones' 'It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)'."This version was first released as a B-side, but was soon re-recorded and flipped to A-side status on a subsequent pressing of the record. Although not a chart hit in its original version as a result of non-existent promotion by the band's label, the song has come to worldwide prominence due to very successful cover versions that have been recorded.The initial CD release was in 1992 on Blackheart Records and featured 13 tracks. The album was digitally remastered and reissued on CD in 1998 and featured two additional bonus tracks

Joan Jett saw the Arrows perform "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on their weekly television series Arrows when she was touring England with The Runaways in 1976. She first recorded the song in 1979 with two of the Sex Pistols: Steve Jones and Paul Cook. This first version was not released until 1993 in Flashback. In 1981, Jett re-recorded the song, this time with her band, The Blackhearts. This recording became a U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for seven weeks, effectively launching Jett's solo career. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing One million units sold. All versions count once toward certification. This success propelled Jett's I Love Rock 'n Roll album to number two on the Billboard 200. Joan Jett's version was ranked #89 in the list 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of Rolling Stone.

"I Love Rock 'n Roll"'s gritty, black-and-white music video received heavy play from the then-young MTV network. In it, Jett and the Blackhearts travel to a small, dingy bar and proceed to excite the drunken crowd by performing the song and yelling out its famous chorus. A snippet of Jett's 1981 hit, "Bad Reputation," is featured at the beginning of the video. Jett followed "I Love Rock 'n Roll" up with another cover — her version of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover" was a top-ten U.S. hit. The video was originally in color, but it was converted to black and white due to the way Joan Jett felt her red leather jacket looked in color.

In 1993 Joan Jett and the Blackhearts made another music video for the song as part of the Wayne's World 2 soundtrack. In the video appear several scenes from the movie with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey mixed with Joan and her band playing in a concert. It was again released as a single by Warner/Reprise with "Activity Grrrl" as the B-side.

Jett's version has received many accolades, including:
Ranking #85 on Q magazine March 2005 list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks
Ranking #484 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"
Ranking #56 in Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.