Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1979 as a conjunction of lead musician, singer and songwriter Joan Jett and the backup band. It has undergone many lineup changes since its inception, with founders Jett and producer Kenny Laguna being its only consistent members.
In 1979, while fulfilling an obligation of the Runaways to complete a film based on the band's career, guitarist and singer-songwriter Joan Jett met songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna, who was hired by her manager Toby Mamis to help Jett with writing some tracks for that film.[5] They became friends and decided to work together and Jett relocated to Long Beach, New York, where Laguna was based. The plug was pulled on the project halfway through shooting after Jett fell ill, but in 1984, after she became famous, producers looked for a way to use the footage from the incomplete film.[5] Parts of the original footage of Jett were eventually used in another project, an underground film called Du-beat-eo, which was produced by Alan Sacks, but not commercially released.[5]
1980s
Jett performing live with the Gibson Melody Maker in Norway, during the 1980s
After collaborating on Jett's self-titled solo debut, which was released independently on Jett and Laguna's Blackheart Records label after the album was rejected by 23 major labels,[5][6] Jett formed the Blackhearts with Laguna's assistance. Laguna recounted, "I told Joanie to forget the band and support herself on the advance money. There was enough for her but not for a band. She said she had to have a band. And I believe to this day that it was the Blackhearts, that concept, that made Joan Jett."[7] She placed an ad in the LA Weekly stating that she was "looking for three good men".[8]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, who had recently been crashing on his couch. Ryan was born Gary Moss, and adopted his stage name upon joining the Blackhearts in 1979, in part to cover up the fact that he was only 15 at the time.[9] Ryan was part of the Los Angeles punk scene and had played bass with local artists Top Jimmy and Rik L. Rik. He had been a fan of the Runaways and Jett for years. Jett recognized him at the audition and he was in. Ryan in turn recommended guitarist Eric Ambel, who was also at the time part of Rik L. Rik. The final addition to the original Blackhearts was drummer Danny "Furious" O'Brien, formerly of the San Francisco band the Avengers. This lineup played several gigs at the Golden Bear, in Huntington Beach, California, and the 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.[10]
Laguna fired O'Brien at the end of the tour,[7] and upon returning to the States, Jett, Ryan, and Ambel moved to Long Beach, New York. Auditions were set up, and Lee Crystal, formerly of the Boyfriends and Sylvain Sylvain, became the new drummer.[10] The band then toured throughout the US, slowly building a fan base, but struggling to remain financially afloat. Throughout 1980, the band was able to keep touring solely due to Laguna drawing on advances from outside projects.[7] Jett and Laguna used their personal savings to press copies of the Joan Jett album and set up their own system of distribution, sometimes selling the albums out of the trunk of Laguna's Cadillac at the end of each concert.[11] Laguna was unable to keep up with demand for the 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.
A spring 1981 concert at the Palladium in New York City proved to be a turning point. Described by music journalists as a career-defining performance by Jett, it helped solidify a strong New York City following for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.[7] After a year of touring and recording, the Blackhearts recorded a new album entitled I Love Rock 'n Roll for the label. Ambel was replaced by local guitarist Ricky Byrd during the recording. Byrd recalled in an interview with Guitarhoo!, "One day I went to a studio to jam around a bit with Jett and everything clicked".[10][12] The first single from the album was the title track, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which in the first half of 1982 was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in a row.[13] It is Billboard's No. 56 song of all time[14] and has also been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.[15]
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.[16] Her next release, Up Your Alley, went multi-platinum. This album contains the single "I Hate Myself for Loving You", which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[19] and had been used as the theme song for Sunday Night Football NFL games in America (with altered lyrics, by two singers) during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
In June 2006, Jett released her album Sinner, on Blackheart Records. To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006 Warped Tour and on a fall 2006 tour with Eagles of Death Metal. Various other bands such as Antigone Rising, Valient Thorr, the Vacancies, Throw Rag and Riverboat Gamblers were to have joined the tour for a handful of dates each. Jett sang a duet with Chase Noles on "Tearstained Letters", a song on the Heart Attacks' 2006 album, Hellbound and Heartless.
Joan Jett & 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, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts appeared with Motörhead and Alice Cooper in a UK arena tour; 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 10, 2008, Jett, as part of the ceremony, closed the program with a performance of the Dave Clark Five's 1964 hit "Bits and Pieces". Joan Jett & the Blackhearts appeared on several dates of the True Colors tour in the summer of 2008.[20] She opened for Def Leppard in August.
2010s
Jett performing live with the Blackhearts in Beaumont, California, during the 2010 Free Concert Series
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were part of the lineup for the Falls Music & Arts Festival, December 29 through January 1, 2010, in Australia.[21] In March 2010, she released a 2-LP/CD Greatest Hits album with four newly re-recorded songs, as well as a hardcover biography, spanning her career from the Runaways to the present day. In June 2010, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts opened for Green Day on their UK tour alongside acts such as Frank Turner and Paramore. The band was the opening act for Aerosmith's September 2010 Canadian tour.[22]
Jett, along with the Blackhearts, released the album Unvarnished on September 30, 2013. The album reached Billboard's Top 50.[23] It included songs dealing with the death of her parents and other people.[24][25]
Former Blackhearts drummer Lee Crystal (born Lee Jamie Sackett in 1956 in Brooklyn, New York) died from complications of multiple sclerosis on November 5, 2013, at the age of 57.[26][27]
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.[29] On April 15, 2015, Jett & the Blackhearts opened for the Who, kicking off their "The Who Hits 50!" 2015 North American tour in Tampa, Florida.[30] The Blackhearts opened for the Who for 42 dates in the U.S. and Canada, ending November 4 in Philadelphia. On July 4, 2015, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were part of the Foo Fighters' 20th anniversary show at the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
In September 2018, Jett signed a music distribution deal with Sony Music's Legacy Recordings, making her catalog officially available for streaming.[31]
2020s
Jett, along with the Blackhearts, was scheduled to join Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard on the 2020 The Stadium Tour as an opening act along with Poison[32] however tour was postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021 it was announced that tour was again postponed and will now happen in the summer of 2022.[33] Jett announced that she will embark on a North American tour in the fall of 2021.[34] The tour ended on September 28, 2021, at the Paramount in Huntington, NY.[35]
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released Changeup on March 25, 2022, the first acoustic album ever recorded by the band, featuring "Bad Reputation" and "Crimson and Clover".[36] On June 2, 2023, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released the 6 song EP, Mindsets. The EP the band's first release of new material in ten years.[37] Jett played a post pandemic welcome back concert in honor of first responders in the summer of 2022 at the Nassau County Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre hosted by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman that set a record attendance of 27,000 concert attendees.[citation needed]
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtownCleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to the recording history of some of the best-known and most influential musicians, bands, producers, and other people who have influenced the music industry. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were inducted in 2015.[40]
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 1976. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell. They established themselves as part of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s. Their greatest commercial success came between the early 1980s and mid–1990s.
The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of Noise" and a cover version of the Velvet Underground's "Rock & Roll". Never a major success in the United States, the Runaways became a sensation overseas, especially in Japan, thanks to the single "Cherry Bomb".
Joan Jett is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Often referred to as the "Godmother of Punk" and the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she is regarded as a rock icon and an influential figure in popular rock music.
John Charles Barrett, known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and has won a Latin Grammy Award.
The Yayhoos are an American country rock group led by Eric "Rosco" Ambel with Dan Baird. They were called "the Traveling Wilbury's of Now Americana" and "the rig-rock supergroup from heck".
Phil Cristian, aka Magic Cristian, is an American keyboardist and singer.
"We Got the Beat" is a song by the American rock band the Go-Go's, written by the group's lead guitarist and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey. The band first recorded the song in 1980 for a single on UK-based Stiff Records, and later rerecorded it for their debut album Beauty and the Beat on I.R.S. Records. The initial single release brought the Go-Go's underground credibility during their first UK tour and in the band's hometown of Los Angeles. The first version reached No. 35 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart due to its popularity in clubs as an import, and the second version was a top 10 hit in both the United States and Canada. It is considered a new wave classic hit, as well as being the Go-Go's' signature song. The song was named one of "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".
Bad Reputation is the debut solo studio album by American recording artist Joan Jett. It was originally released independently in May 1980 as a self-titled album after her previous band The Runaways disbanded. After Jett signed with Boardwalk Records, the album was re-released worldwide with the new title on January 23, 1981. The album was positively received by critics and reached number 51 on the Billboard 200.
I Love Rock 'n Roll is the second studio album by Joan Jett and the first with her backing band the Blackhearts. The album was recorded during the summer of 1981 and was released in November. Soon after the first recording sessions at Soundworks Studios, original Blackheart guitarist Eric Ambel was replaced by Ricky Byrd. It is Jett's most commercially successful album to date with over a million copies sold, largely due to the success of the title track, which was released as a single soon after the album was released.
Album is the third studio album by Joan Jett and the second to feature her backing band the Blackhearts. It was released in July 1983.
Up Your Alley is the sixth studio album by American rock band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, released on May 2, 1988 by Blackheart Records and CBS Records in the United States, and by Polydor Records in Europe and Japan, a year and a half after their previous album Good Music (1986). This album contains the single "I Hate Myself for Loving You", which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and had been used as the theme song for Sunday Night Football NFL games in America during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. The follow-up single "Little Liar" continued Jett's chart success, peaking at No. 19 on the Hot 100 in late 1988/early 1989.
"Bad Reputation" is a rock song co-written and recorded by Joan Jett from her debut album of the same name. It remains one of her signature songs.
The discography of Joan Jett, an American rock musician, includes 44 singles and 12 studio albums.
Eric "Roscoe" Ambel is an American guitarist and record producer.
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of the same name, became Jett's highest-charting hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the No. 3 song for 1982. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing two million units shipped to stores. Jett's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.
Kenneth Benjamin Laguna is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician, best known for his work with Joan Jett.
Unvarnished is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, released on September 30, 2013. It reached number 47 on the US Billboard 200, becoming Jett's first album to chart since The Hit List (1990).
Bad Reputation is a 2018 American documentary film about the career of rock musician Joan Jett, directed by Kevin Kerslake and written by Joel Marcus. The documentary traces Jett's musical career from the formation of the Runaways through her subsequent partnership with songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna. Continuing with the creation of the band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts as well as the establishment of the record label Blackheart Records with Laguna, the narrative concludes with the induction of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2015.
Ricky Byrd is a rock and roll guitar player, singer, songwriter and producer. He spent over a decade as a member of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, where he contributed music and background vocals to two platinum albums, I Love Rock 'n Roll and Up Your Alley, the gold certified Album, and four others for the band.
Lee Jamie Sackett, better known as Lee Crystal, was an American drummer, most prominently as a member of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Crystal was the drummer during the band's most prolific and popular period from 1981-86, including the album I Love Rock 'n Roll and that album's title track, which stayed atop the Billboard charts for seven weeks in 1982.
References
↑ Martin, Bill (2002). Pro Secrets of Heavy Rock Singing. Sanctuary Publishing. p.9. ISBN978-1-86074-437-2.
1 2 3 4 Gross, Jonathan (June 1983). "Joan Jett: The Road Goes on Forever". Record. 2 (8): 1, 10–11, 30.
↑ Gleeson, Sinead (June 18, 2010). "Year of the Jett". The Irish Times. Retrieved April 16, 2011. While trying to set up the band that would become the Blackhearts, she posted a classified ad "looking for three good men", and it's easy to assume that the Runaways experience had put her off being in an all-female band.
1 2 "Joan Jett Rocks Roseau Fair, Song Stands as Billboard Record". Grand Forks Herald. July 14, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2011– via NewsBank. A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts was the opening group for the Beach Boys in the Beach Boys 1985 US tour). Jett was the first American act of any kind to perform behind the Iron Curtain and the first English-speaking rock band to appear in Panama and the Dominican Republic. The band also became the first rock band to perform a series of shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway, breaking a record for the fastest ticket sell-out.
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