Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin on September 22, 1958 in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.
She is best known for her hit single "I Love Rock N' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard charts from March 20 to May 1 1982, as well as for her other popular recordings including "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me", "Light of Day", "Love is All Around", "Bad Reputation," "I Hate Myself for Loving You," and "Little Liar."
Jett has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Her musical and song-writing 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 struggles and resolution of the American working class, and the quest for authenticity.
Career and biography
Joan Jett was born at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, in suburban Philadelphia, in the United States. She moved to Wheaton, Maryland in 1967 when she was 9, but dropped out of Wheaton High School and left Maryland behind when she was 15 to pursue her music career. She moved to Los Angeles California and attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills.[VH1 Joan Jett bio]
The Runaways
Joan Jett is one of the founding members of The Runaways along with Kari Krome and Sandy West. Kari Krome (replaced by Micki Steele and later Jackie Fox), Lita Ford, and Cherie Currie completed the line-up. While Currie initially fronted the band, Jett also sang lead vocal, played rhythm guitar and wrote or co-wrote much of the band's material. The band recorded five LPs, with one 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 huge success abroad, especially in Japan.
While The Runaways were popular in Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada and even South America, they could not garner the same success in the U.S. It seemed that the United States, and the music press especially, was not ready to take seriously the music of female teenagers. After Currie and Fox left the band (to be replaced by bassist Vicki Blue and later, Laurie McAllister), the band released two more albums: Waitin' for the Night and And Now... The Runaways. Altogether they produced five albums from 1975 until they disbanded in spring of 1979.
It was soon after that Jett produced The Germs' first and only album (GI).
Solo
In the spring of 1979, Jett was in England pursuing a solo career. While there, she cut three songs with ex-Sex Pistols Paul Cook and Steve Jones (one of which was an early version of a cover song called "I Love Rock N' Roll," originally written and performed by The Arrows). Later that year, she moved to Long Beach, New York, and ultimately, Los Angeles, where she reluctantly began fulfilling an obligation of the Runaways to complete a film loosely based on the band's career called We're All Crazee Now!, with three actresses standing in for her departed band members. The plug was pulled on the project halfway through shooting, but in 1984, after Jett had become a major star, producers were looking for a way to make use of the footage from the incomplete film. Bits of the original footage of Joan were used in a completely new project never commercially released, an underground movie called DuBeat-Eo, produced by Alan Sacks. While working on the project, Jett met songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna, who came in to help Jett with writing some tracks for the film. They became instant friends and decided to work together.
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 17 May 1980. In the United States, the album was rejected by 28 major labels.[:Joan Jett and the Blackhearts:] Jett and Laguna released it independently on their own Blackheart Records label, 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. It was more or less Joan's idea to do it ourselves."" Jett inadvertently became the first female performer to start her own record label.
Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
With Laguna's assistance, she formed the Blackhearts. Joan 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, that 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 huge fan of the Runaways and Jett for years. Joan recognized him at the audition and he was in. Gary recommended guitarist Eric Ambel, who was also at the time part of the Rik L. Rik band. 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, N.Y. O'Brien stayed behind in England to pursue other interests. Auditions were set up and Lee Crystal, formerly of The Boyfriends, became the new drummer. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts then toured throughout the states and built quite a following in their new "stomping grounds" of 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. During the recording process, Ambel was replaced by local guitarist Ricky Byrd. Eric went on to a successful career as a founding member of the Del-Lords, and later worked as a producer of a wide variety of bands. He currently plays with his band, The Yayhoos, and is Steve Earle's guitarist.
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 charts for seven weeks in a row. It is now Billboard’s #28 song of all time.
A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours with The Police, Queen, and Aerosmith, among others. Jett was the second American act of any kind to perform behind the Iron Curtain, the first one being Blood, Sweat & Tears in Romania in 1969. 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 title song" especially for her, 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 ever. Her next release, Up Your Alley, went multi-platinum and was followed by The Hit List, which was an international hit.
In 1989, Joan co-wrote the song "House of Fire", which appeared on Alice Cooper's Trash album.
In the 1990s, Jett and Laguna released Flashback, a compilation of her career so far on their own Blackheart Records. Her next release, Notorious (which featured The Replacements' Paul Westerberg) 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.
Jett produced several bands prior to releasing her debut and her label Blackheart Records released recordings from varied artists such as thrash rock 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 Kat Bjelland (Babes in Toyland), Donita Sparks (L7) and Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill).
Other work
Jett, a huge sports fan, remained actively involved in the sports world. Her cover of “Love is All Around” (the theme song of The Mary Tyler Moore Show) 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 heavy radio play and became a number one requested song without an existing support CD. Jett supplied theme songs for the premiere ESPN X-Games and has contributed music to all the games since. She also sang the national anthem, at Cal Ripken Jr.'s request at the game in which he broke Lou Gehrig’s record.
Orientation
Jett's sexual orientation has been the subject of much speculation due to the fact that her album "Sinner" features a cover of The Replacements song "Androgynous" and a version of the song "A.C.D.C." by The Sweet, which is about bisexuality. However, Jett won't publicly discuss her sexuality. She said: "But I do it in my music, and I always have. If you don't know who I am from listening to my music, then you're not going to figure it out from me talking to you, either." [The Seattle Times: Arts & Entertainment: After 30 years, Joan Jett won't be grounded]
Film, Broadway and television appearances
Jett's first appearance on film is in the 1981 live concert film Urgh! A Music War, 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 has also appeared in some independent films, including The Sweet Life and Boogie Boy.
During the 1990s, she appeared on the sitcom Ellen, performing the title song. She also appeared on the television show . Her song "Bad Reputation" was used as the theme song for the cult TV show Freaks and Geeks, and later for the Sirius Satellite Radio show "Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer". A version of "Bad Reputation" also appeared on the soundtracks of the films Shrek and 10 Things I Hate About You. The father and son motorcycle building reality show American Chopper is currently using "Bad Reputation" as the intro music for the show.
In 2000, Jett appeared in the Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Show in the role of Columbia.
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[Independent Eye], for Maryland Public Television.
In 2008, Jett will make a cameo appearance in Darren Lynn Bousman's Repo! The Genetic Opera.[BLOODY-DISGUSTING.COM]
In February 2008, Joan Jett made a cameo appearance in Jimmy Kimmel's video, "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck."
July 13, 2008, appeared on episode "Reunion".
July 25, 2008, performed on Friday night concert at Oswego’s Harborfest 2008.
Later music career
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. It was during the 1990s that the Riot Grrrl movement arose, of which Bikini Kill was a representative band, and many of these women credited Jett as a role model and inspiration. Another Riot Grrrl band, Bratmobile, covered the song "Cherry Bomb" as a tribute to her.
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. 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 television show America's Most Wanted, appealing to the public for information. The case was finally solved in 2004, when Zapata's murderer was finally 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 track "Boys Wanna Be Her," and a guest on "You Love It".
In 2004, Jett and Laguna produced, "No Apologies" by Warped Tour favorites 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 entitled Joan Jett's Radio Revolution heard every Saturday and Sunday. The program moved from Sirius 25 to Sirius 28 shortly before being axed in June 2008.
In 2005, Jett and Laguna celebrated the 25th anniversary of Blackheart Records with a sellout show at Manhattan's Webster Hall that featured their groups The Eyeliners and The Vacancies as openers to the headlining Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
Current projects
In June 2006, Joan Jett released a new album, Sinner, on Blackheart Records, her own label. To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006 Warped Tour, and embarked on a Fall 2006 tour with Eagles of Death Metal. Various other bands like Valient Thorr, The Vacancies, Throw Rag and Riverboat Gamblers were to have joined the tour for a handful of dates each.
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 American Chopper that aired on The Learning Channel February 22, 2007.
Jett sang a duet with Chase Noles on "Tearstained Letters," a song on 2006 Heart Attacks album, Hellbound and Heartless.
In late June 2007, 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.
Jett is to executive produce the 2009 upcoming film Neon Angels, which chronicles the Runaways' career. Floria Sigismondi, who has also directed videos for Marilyn Manson, the White Stripes and David Bowie, is to write and direct.
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 10th, 2008, Joan 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!"
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts appeared on several dates of the True Colors Tour 2008.[True Colors | | Line Up] in the summer of 2008. She is opening up for Def Leppard on Aug 1st, 2008.
Accolades and awards
 Jett was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in October 2006. [Notes of praise for LI musicians at Hall induction]
In 2003, Jett was named in the Rolling Stone greatest 100 guitarists of all time at number 87[100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time]. She was one of only two women in this list. The other was Joni Mitchell.
Jett is listed as one of Blenders "hottest women of rock" 21 years after she started The Runaways.["http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?ID=2295&src=blender_ed]
Joan Jett is now honored by Gibson with a signiture model of her melody maker, which is a white double cutaway with one zebra humbucker and "kill" toggle switch.
Activism
Jett is very critical of the Republican Party and was a supporter of 2004 Presidential candidate Howard Dean because of his position on the War in Iraq and his gay marriage policy. [Interview on The Henry Rollins Show, June 1, 2007.]
She has 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 for a meet-and-greet, and many photographs were taken with personnel.
Jett is a vegan.
Trivia
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was the featured song in the opening episode of the 2008 American Idol season, which began its auditions in Philadelphia, her hometown.
Jett is left-handed, but plays the guitar right-handed, as shown in her video of Cherry Bomb where she signs autographs using her left hand.
Jett plays a white Gibson Melody Maker guitar.
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is featured as a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero.
"I Hate Myself For Loving You" is featured as a playable track in the video game .
"Bad Reputation" will be featured as a playable track in the upcoming video game Rock Band 2.
An achievement in the Xbox 360 version of the game Guitar Hero II, is titled the "Joan & Lita Award" in tribute to Joan Jett and Lita Ford. It is awarded to two players who can get a 100 note streak in cooperative mode.
See also
The Runaways
External links
Joan Jett Official Site
Joan Jett Bad Reputation Nation Official Fan Site
Joan Jett at the Notable Names Database
Rock Chicks:The Hottest Female Rockers from the 1960’s to Now by Stieven-Taylor, Alison (2007). Sydney. Rockpool Publishing. ISBN 9781921295065
Blackheart Records Group
Joan Jett Photos and Fan Zone
Joan Jett at Allmusic
The Runaways website
Biography and summary from Ultimate Band List
Interview: Joan Jett on Sinner
A.C.D.C. Video on JukeboxAlive
Joan Jett Is A Rock Star For Animals. Rock Icon Slams Butterball with Hotline and Feature Contest
VH1 Joan Jett bio
Joan Jett Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
IMDB Page for Neon Angels
Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox perform "Light of Day" in the film of the same name
Joan Jett interview from PETA2
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Jan 2007 concert at CES Las Vegas
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