“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 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in 1982. (More from Wikipedia)
The Runaways never found the same success at home as they had overseas, so Joan Jett went to England to begin her solo career. In 1979, Jett recorded three songs with Paul Cook and Steve Jones (both formerly in Sex Pistols), including an early version of “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” (“I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” had originally been recorded by a British band called Arrows).
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts have released a total of 10 studio albums, including Unvarnished that was released in 2013. Their debut album, I Love Rock ’n’ Roll was their most successful, reaching #2 on the Billboard album charts and spawning a #1 hit single, “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll”. The title of their third album, Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (one of my favorite album names ever), refers to her days in the Runaways and includes another version of “Cherry Bomb”. I saw a lively concert by Joan Jett down here in Bay St. Louis not long after I came to the Coast, and she came through again earlier this year.
(November 2013)
