1979 to 1989

Joan Jett unarguably was the Punk element within the infamous THE RUNAWAYS, the all female Rock band managed by svengali KIM FOWLEY that shot the girl to international recognition. In spite of the impact made by THE RUNAWAYS it has only really been Jett and LITA FORD from the band that have broken away into successful solo careers. Jett in particular will be forever known for her global hits of the mid 80's most well known being 'I Love Rock 'n Roll', her perennial trademark track which encompassed the globe and has seen numerous charting re-releases.

JETT's career took an upward turn when she hooked up with new manager Kenny Laguna. Her 1981 album, 'I Love Rock n' Roll' went mega platinum off the back of the title track, which hit Number One in America and was equally a huge hit in Europe. The title track held onto the US number one spot for a tenacious eight weeks building album sales up to the ten million marker. 'Crimson And Clover' would chart too and her version of GARY GLITTER's 'Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah!)' also scored well on radio. Of note is that the original pressing of the record included the seasonal Christmas song 'Little Drummer Boy', replaced on re-pressings by 'Oh Woe Is Me'.

1983's follow up, simply entitled 'Album', also sold well, boosted by a rash of hit singles with 'Fake Friends' and 'Everyday People'. Spanish variants of the 1984 'Glorious Results Of A Mispent Youth' opus would be retitled 'I Need Someone'. Jett took out a lawsuit against 'Playboy' magazine for publishing a nude photo that the title claimed was of Joan pictured in a bathtub. The identity of the female in question later turned out to allegedly be ex-THE RUNAWAYS bassist Laurie MaCallister.

Joan contributed 'Gotcha Where I Want Ya' to the soundtrack album of 1985's 'Gotcha' movie. The album was issued through Curb / MCA Records.

The 1987 album 'Good Music' caught Jett paying homage to her mentors. Included are covers of the BEACH BOYS 'Fun, Fun, Fun', featuring backing vocals from the BEACH BOYS themselves, and JONATHAN RICHMAN's 'Roadrunner'. For this latter song the band re-recorded the vocals no less than 60 times to include reference's to different US cities. This resulted in a swathe of localised radio promo releases. Whilst the album itself was not particularly successful, Jett contented herself with winning her first acting role in the Michael J. Fox movie 'Light Of Day'. The title track, a Jett composition, cracked the Top 40 in the wake of the film's good reviews.

The 1988 album 'Up Your Alley', marking the introduction of new studio rhythm section bassist Kasim Sulton and drummer Thommy Price, boasted ex-ROLLING STONES guitarist Mick Taylor on the opening track 'I Hate Myself For Loving You', a Desmond Child co-write and another international hit which broke the top ten in the USA. The follow up 'Little Liar' would also fare well, going top twenty and pushing 'Up Your Alley' into the million seller league. Besides her outing with The Blackhearts, Joan also racked up a fairly lengthy list of contributions to records by other artists. Those on her CV included THE BANGLES' "Hazy Shade Of Winter', KEEL's 'Final Frontier', DESMOND CHILD's 'Discipline' and she also co-wrote 'House Of Fire' with ALICE COOPER.