October 31, 2022

1981 - December: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts “I Love Rock-n-Roll”

34 minutes

I Love Rock 'n Roll is the first album by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and the second solo album by Joan Jett. Born as Joan Marie Larkin, Joan Jett got her start in the music industry as a teenager when her family moved to the Los Angeles area and divorced shortly thereafter. She was a founding member of the all-girl band The Runaways at the age of 16.

Jett began her solo career in England in 1979, where she recorded songs with some of the members of the Sex Pistols. Later that year she returned to Los Angeles where she connected with a songwriter and producer named Kenny Laguna. Laguna would relocate Jett to Long Beach, New York, and assist her with both her first solo album and the formation of the Blackhearts.

The group spent a year touring and building up a following in the New York Area before releasing I Love Rock 'n Roll. This album would be a mixture of original songs and covers, and the title track would spend 7 weeks at the top of the U.S. charts. The album was a commercial success, selling 10 million copies, and is Jett's most successful album to date.

(I'm Gonna) Run Away

Rob starts us off with the second track on the album, a deeper cut, and an original song written by Jett and Laguna. It has a punk feel, as does much of the album, and the lyrics reflect a break-up.

Crimson and Clover

This cover of a song originally performed by Tommy James and the Shondells alternates between a slow and fast tempo, but maintains a hard rock edge throughout, unlike the more psychedelic aspects of the original. Jett was questioned about her choice not to change the pronouns in the lyrics from female to male, and she commented simply that the change in lyrics would make the song not rhyme.

Summertime Blues

Eddie Cochran co wrote and performed this song in 1958. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts speed this one up and give it a punk edge. It was not originally on the album, but appeared as the B-side to a single from Jett's prior solo album “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah).” It would appear on the album as a bonus track when released on CD.

I Love Rock 'n Roll

This title track is the big hit, and is also a cover originally performed by The Arrows in 1975. Jett first heard the song while touring with The Runaways, and she recorded an early version of the song with members of the Sex Pistols in 1979. It was the number 3 song on the U.S. charts for the year of 1982.

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Street Life by Randy Crawford (from the motion picture “Sharkey's Machine”)

This action film featured a stunt involving a plunge out of the Peachtree Plaza hotel, the tallest building in Atlanta at the time.

STAFF PICKS:

Jealous Lover by Rainbow

Bruce starts off the staff picks with the lead-off track from a 4-song EP of the same name. Frontman Joe Lynn Turner and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore wrote this song. Turner wrote the lyrics in about 5 minutes, inspired by an argument he had with Blackmore, which made him think about a fight he'd recently had with his girlfriend. “And it's hard to discover you're like any other jealous lover.”

Young Turks by Rod Stewart

Brian features the first US single from Stewart's eleventh album, Tonight I'm Yours. The song tells the story of two young lovers who run away from their parents to make their own way. Interestingly the phrase “young turks” never appears in the lyrics. The video included an early example of break dancing.

Marie Marie by The Blasters

Wayne brings us a rockabilly song, or as The Blasters would describe it, “R&B in cowboy boots.” The song tells the story of a guy who is told to leave a family's daughter alone, and so he sings to her as he is leaving.

I Love You by Climax Blues Band

Rob's staff pick is a soft rock hit. It tells the story of a guy who is rescued by the love of his wife. It is the second biggest hit by the Climax Blues Band after Couldn't Get It Right. It hit number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

September Fifteenth by Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays

This jazz instrumental was a feature of "Jazz Flavors" on radio station 94Q in Atlanta in December of 1981.

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By Rob Marbury, Wayne Rowan, Bruce Fricks, John Lynch

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