Rocker Joan Jett sang about not giving a damn about her bad reputation. But that doesn't mean other musicians love her as much as she loves rock 'n roll.
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00:00Joan Jett's signature tune is a foot-stomping, female-empowerment anthem that transformed
00:05a former Runaways guitarist into a bona fide rock star.
00:09But the song also changed her in ways she never could have dreamed of.
00:12In 1976, Joan Jett was touring England as a member of the groundbreaking all-female
00:17rock band The Runaways.
00:19One night, she was relaxing in her hotel room and decided to flip on the TV.
00:22A music show hosted by a band called The Arrows was on.
00:25Since Jett had heard of the band, she decided to watch.
00:28The band ended the episode by playing one of their B-sides, a song called I Love Rock
00:32and Roll.
00:33It was the first time Jett had heard the song, and by the time The Arrows finished playing
00:36it, she was squealing with excitement.
00:39According to Bad Reputation, the unauthorized biography of Joan Jett, she knew she had to
00:43cover this song.
00:44However, getting the song recorded was a hassle that took a number of years.
00:48In 1979, three years after first hearing The Arrows' version of I Love Rock and Roll, Joan
00:53Jett hooked up with two members of the Sex Pistols, drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve
00:58Jones.
00:59Together, they recorded the track she'd been dreaming of for so long.
01:01Jett released this version of the song as the B-side to her single, You Don't Own Me.
01:05In a 2010 interview with Uncut, Jett recalled what it was like working with Cook and Jones.
01:10She told the outlet,
01:11"'I did a very early version with them.
01:13It was great working with them, and no, there was no sense of trepidation on my part, despite
01:17the fact that everyone was telling me they were the most notorious band on the planet.'"
01:20The Runaways' label before the band broke up in 1979 was owned by Polygram, and they
01:25were handling distribution for the new single, too.
01:27However, the company's executives weren't interested in Joan Jett or her version of
01:31I Love Rock and Roll, according to Song Facts.
01:34Since Jett and her producer Kenny Laguna believed the song would be a hit, Laguna bought the
01:38rights from the record company for cheap.
01:40From there, The Who bankrolled studio time and transportation for Jett to record her
01:44first solo album, Joan Jett, which would later be repackaged as Bad Reputation.
01:48However, Jett held off from re-recording I Love Rock and Roll until she could get a major
01:52label deal.
01:53When Jett signed with the major label in 1981, she was finally ready to re-record the song.
01:58But first she needed to rewrite some of the lyrics.
02:00Alan Merrill and guitarist Jake Hooker of the Arrows wrote I Love Rock and Roll in response
02:05to the Rolling Stones' It's Only Rock and Roll, But I Like It.
02:08In the original song, the lyrics are about a guy picking up a young girl and taking her
02:11back to his place.
02:12In Jett's tweaked version, the tune is about a girl who notices a guy next to a jukebox
02:17and brings him home.
02:18As Song Facts points out, other hit songs of the era also had sexual overtones, such
02:22as Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot.
02:25However, Jett sang about men in such an unapologetic and aggressive way that I Love Rock and Roll
02:30went on to become an anthem about female empowerment.
02:32If people want to call the song an anthem, I think it's wonderful.
02:36I really think it's great.
02:38According to Bad Reputation, there was initial pushback from radio stations when the song
02:41was released.
02:42They felt it was too hard-hitting for rock radio.
02:45But it didn't matter.
02:46I Love Rock and Roll shot up the charts, quickly achieving the top spot on the Billboard Hot
02:51100.
02:52The song held steady there for seven weeks.
02:54The album it appeared on, which was also titled I Love Rock and Roll, reached number two on
02:58the Billboard charts.
02:59I Love Rock and Roll also helped shape Jett's image as a badass rock star, while simultaneously
03:04making her an inspiration to many female solo artists.
03:07In a 2008 interview with Mojo magazine, Jett spoke about the song's lasting impact.
03:12She told the outlet,
03:13"'I think most people who love some kind of rock and roll can relate to it.
03:16I quickly realize this song is gonna follow you, so you're either gonna let it bother
03:20you or you gotta make peace with it and feel blessed that you were involved with something
03:23that touched so many people."