Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin on September 22, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American rock and roll guitarist, singer, and actress best known for her hit "I Love Rock N' Roll," which was #1 on the Billboard charts from March 20th to May 8th, 1982.
Joan Jett was born in Philadelphia. She later moved to Hollywood, California, where, when still in her teens, she first gained attention as the guitarist, main songwriter and back-up singer in the pioneering all-women band The Runaways, known for pre-punk hard rock and the classic song "Cherry Bomb."
Once lead singer Cherie Curie left the band, Joan assumed the duties of lead vocalist. Although the band was misconstrued in the U.S. as a novelty act, they were very popular almost everywhere else, particularly in Japan. Subsequently, they have proved enormously influential for other women in bands and are regarded as pioneers.
After the Runaways disbanded in 1980, she produced an album for Los Angeles punk rock band, The Germs, then embarked on a solo career. Although she approached many labels, not one would sign her due to the stigma that accompanied her former band The Runaways, and so she and manager and co-writer Kenny Laguna created their own independent record label, Blackheart Records to release recordings by her new band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
With the Blackhearts, she had several singles in the top ten, including the #1 "I Love Rock N' Roll" as well as covers of Tommy James' "Crimson and Clover" and Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me". "Bad Reputation", whose accompanying video narrates the story of the rejection of Joan by major labels and the creation of her own record label, was also a hit. During this time, Jett toured relentlessly. One of the highlights of her live performance is the cover of the AC/DC song "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap". Her cover of the song Little Drummer Boy appears on the soundtrack to the 1983 film Class.
