JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS - I LOVE ROCK N ROLL

Publicació: desembre de 1981

Llistes: Regne Unit: #4 EUA: #1

"I Love Rock And Roll" va ser gravada originalment per un grup britànic anomenat The Arrows el 1975, i va ser escrit pel seu cantant Alan Merrill i el guitarrista Jake Hooker. Merrill va explicar com va sortir aquesta cançó: "Aquesta va ser una resposta brusca a 'It's Only Rock and Roll' dels Rolling Stones. Recordo haver-la vist a Top of the Pops. Vaig trobar a Mick Jagger unes quantes vegades, i sabia que s’estava relacionant amb gent de la jet-set. Gairebé em va semblar que "It's Only Rock and Roll" era una mena de disculpa als prínceps i princeses de l’aristocråcia amb els quals s’estava divertint. Aquesta va ser la meva interpretació de jove: d'acord, m'encanta el rock and roll. I després, on vas amb aquest gent?"

La cançó es va publicar com a cara B de "Broken Down Heart" de The Arrows. El grup estava gravant per a RAK Records, dirigit per Mickie Most. Com explica Merrill, "I Love Rock And Roll" no s'adaptava als seus gustos, ja que durant aquella època Most preferia les balades i el blues. L'esposa de Most el va animar a girar les cares, però la cançó no va triomfar ja que va tenir molta mala sort en el moment de la seva publicació. Primer, es va haver de tornar a llançar com a cara A. En segon lloc, la cançó va sortir durant una vaga de diaris anglesos, de manera que les cançons noves no tenien l'exposició que tindrien normalment. En tercer lloc, The Arrows estaven en disputa amb el seu segell discogràfic. Com a resultat, la cançó no es va vendre i va romandre en l'obscuritat.

Joan Jett estava de gira per Anglaterra com a membre d'un grup d'adolescents anomenat The Runaways quan va descobrir aquesta cançó. Volia gravar-la amb The Runaways, però a les altres membres no els va agradar la cançó i van cometre l'error de deixar-la passar. Així, el 1979, Jett la va gravar amb Paul Cook i Steve Jones de The Sex Pistols i la va publicar com a cara B. Finalment, el 1981, Jett va gravar la cançó amb la seva banda The Blackhearts, donant com a resultat un èxit mundial.

Jett va recordar a Uncut l'agost de 2010 la seva versió amb el duet dels Pistols: "Vaig fer una versió molt primerenca amb ells, va ser fantàstic treballar-hi, i no, no hi havia cap sensació de tremolor per part meva, malgrat que tothom em deia que eren la banda més famosa del planeta".

A la versió original, la lletra parla d'un noi que coneix una noia i la porta a casa. Era un tema de rock and roll força típic. La versió de Jett es va convertir en una cançó sobre una noia que coneix un noi al costat d'un jukebox i el porta a casa per tenir sexe. Altres cançons d'èxit com "Physical" d'Olivia Newton John i "Hit me Wish your Best shot" de Pat Benatar també tenien connotacions sexuals, però Jett va cantar sobre la persecució agressiva al noi, i va fer de la cançó un himne femení. Aquesta cançó va ajudar a donar forma a la imatge dura de Jett com a estrella de rock i la va convertir en un referent per a moltes dones músics.

El coautor de la cançó, Alan Merrill, va morir als 69 anys el 29 de març de 2020, sent una de les primeres víctimes de la pandèmia de coronavirus. Joan Jett va oferir el seu condol a Twitter, i va publicar: "Encara recordo haver vist els Arrows a la televisió de Londres i com em vaig quedar bocabadada amb la cançó”.

JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS - I LOVE ROCK N ROLL

Released: December 1981

Charted:  UK: #4  US: #1

This was originally recorded by a British group called The Arrows in 1975, and it was written by their lead singer Alan Merrill and guitarist Jake Hooker. Merrill explained how this song came about: "That was a knee-jerk response to the Rolling Stones' 'It’s Only Rock and Roll'. I remember watching it on Top of the Pops. I'd met Mick Jagger socially a few times, and I knew he was hanging around with Prince Rupert Lowenstein and people like that – jet setters. I almost felt like 'It's Only Rock and Roll' was an apology to those jet-set princes and princesses that he was hanging around with - the aristocracy, you know. That was my interpretation as a young man: Okay, I love rock and roll. And then, where do you go with that?"

The song was released as a B-side with The Arrows' "Broken Down Heart." The group was recording for RAK Records, which was run by Mickie Most. As Merrill explains, "I Love Rock And Roll" didn't suit his current tastes, as during that time Most preferred ballads and blues. Most's wife Christina Hayes encouraged him to flip the sides, but the song didn't catch on, as it suffered from a poor run of luck at the time of its release. First, it had to be re-released as an A-side. Second, the song came out during an English newspaper strike, so new songs weren't getting the exposure they'd normally get. Third, The Arrows were feuding with their record label. As a result, the song didn't chart and was banished to obscurity.

Jett was touring England as a member of an all teenage girl group called The Runaways when she discovered this song. She wanted to record it with The Runaways, but the other members didn't like the song and made the mistake of passing it up. So, in 1979, Jett recorded it with Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols and released it as a B-side. Finally, in 1981, Jett recorded the song with her band The Blackhearts, resulting in a monster hit.

Jett recalled to Uncut August 2010 her version with the Pistols duo: "I did a very early version with them, it was great working with them, and no, there was no sense of trepidation on my part, despite the fact that everyone was telling me they were the most notorious band on the planet."

In the original version, the lyrics are about a guy picking up a young girl and taking her home, which was fairly typical rock and roll subject matter. When Jett covered this, however, it became a song about a girl who notices a guy next to a jukebox and brings him home to have sex. Other hit songs like "Physica.  l. " by Olivia Newton John and "Hit me Wish your Best shot" by Pat Benatar also had sexual overtones, but Jett sang about aggressively pursuing the guy, which for many women made this a female-empowerment anthem. This song helped shape Jett's image as a tough, confident rock star and became an inspiration to many female musicians.

The song's co-writer, Alan Merrill, died at 69 on March 29, 2020, one of the first high-profile victims of the coronavirus pandemic. Joan Jett offered condolences on Twitter, posting: "I can still remember watching the Arrows on TV in London and being blown away by the song that screamed hit to me."