

- JOAN JETT I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL FULL
- JOAN JETT I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL SERIES
- JOAN JETT I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL TV
Kenny Laguna plays a big part in her story, as he helped Jett get started as a solo artist and has worked with her ever since. The Runaways' bass player Michael Steele went on to join The Bangles, and their guitarist Lita Ford had a successful solo career, but Joan Jett emerged as their most famous alumna. Now that she had a record deal, Jett released "I Love Rock and Roll," which was her first single on a major label and was included on her second album. That first album, which was called Joan Jett, was remixed and renamed Bad Reputation. When "Do You Wanna Touch Me" and " Bad Reputation" started getting airplay, they got a deal with Boardwalk Records. Jett and Laguna both thought "I Love Rock and Roll" was a great song, but since they didn't have the backing of a major label, they held off on it until they could establish themselves and get better distribution. They struggled to get a record deal and had to form their own label, Blackheart Reocrds, to release the album in America. When the Runaways broke up, Joan Jett and her producer Kenny Laguna put her first solo album together with studio time and travel arrangements fronted by The Who.
JOAN JETT I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL FULL
But it was actually a pretty clever stroke, one that I'm proud of." (Want to find out what shot down The Arrows and see them in action? Check out our full interview with Alan Merrill.) And I don't think too many people get that about the song, you know? They just like the melody, and it's catchy. So when it actually became a huge hit for Joan Jett, my Twilight Zone concept came true. A fictional hit coming out of the chorus with the kids singing it as their favorite song in the verse of the song. I was so sure 'I Love Rock and Roll' was gonna be a hit for the Arrows that I thought, Well, when we have a hit with it, it's gonna be a hit within a hit. So the actual chorus is something that's coming out of a jukebox, and the two kids in the disco who are flirting are hearing this song that's a hit. I'll write it that this is a song separate from the verse. And I thought, I'll do something really unusual. Finally, in 1981, Jett recorded the song with her band The Blackhearts, resulting in a monster hit.Īlan Merrill: "I had the chorus, which to me sounded like a hit. So, in 1979, Jett recorded it with Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols and released it as a B-side. She wanted to record it with The Runaways, but the other members didn't like the song and made the mistake of passing it up. Jett was touring England as a member of an all-teenage girl group called The Runaways when she discovered this song. It was this show that Joan Jett saw in 1976, which prompted her to acquire a copy of "I Love Rock and Roll" and later cover it in 1981, producing what is arguably one of the most successful covers in Rock history.
JOAN JETT I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL TV
The show's producer, Muriel Young, was so impressed that on the strength of this performance, she gave them their own TV show, simply called The Arrows Show, which ran from 1976 - 1977 in the UK for two full 14-week seasons on the ITV network.
JOAN JETT I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL SERIES
As a result, the song barely scratched the top 50 charts.Īll was not lost, however, as The Arrows performed this song when they were guests on the UK TV series Pop 45. Third, notorious feuds were occurring between The Arrows and their record label. Second, the song came out during an English newspaper strike, so new songs weren't getting the exposure they'd normally get. First, it had to be re-released as an A-side. Most's wife Christina Hayes encouraged him to flip the sides, but the song didn't catch on, as it suffered from a poor run of luck at the time of its release. As Merrill explains, "I Love Rock and Roll" didn't suit his current tastes, as during that time Most preferred ballads and blues. The song was released as a B-side with The Arrows' "Broken Down Heart." The group was recording for RAK Records, which was run by Mickie Most. That was my interpretation as a young man: Okay, I love rock and roll. I almost felt like 'It's Only Rock and Roll' was an apology to those jet-set princes and princesses that he was hanging around with - the aristocracy, you know. I'd met Mick Jagger socially a few times, and I knew he was hanging around with Prince Rupert Lowenstein and people like that – jet setters. Merrill explained in a Songfacts interview how this song came about: "That was a knee-jerk response to the Rolling Stones' 'It's Only Rock 'N' Roll.' I remember watching it on Top of the Pops. " I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a song covered by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts which was originally recorded by a British group called The Arrows in 1975, and it was written by their lead singer Alan Merrill and guitarist Jake Hooker.
