Anybody
who dismisses Joan Jett and her band,
the Blackhearts, as just some little pop
band has either never met the lady, never
heard one of her albums, never seen the
band live, or does not know anything about
music. Tommy Price, the bands drummer,
has been with the band for over eighteen
years, and you do not get a musician of
that quality staying unless something
is going on.
Way before joining the Blackhearts Tommy
was a top session drummer, who actually
played on all of Joan's early work, but
was never a Blackheart till later. Then
he joined Blue Oyster Cult, Roger Daltrey,
and was with Billy Idol for many years.
Tommy finally accepted the gig with Joan
after seeing them from backstage at some
American festival. He concluded that the
band was the equal of the Who live. There
is no finer compliment than being compared
to Shepherd Bush's finest.
Many other fine musicians have been in
the Blackhearts over the years, to name
a few, Kenny Aaronson, ex Bob Dylan; Sammy
Hagar, now with John Eddie; Ricky Byrd,
ex Ian Hunter Band; Tommy Burns, now the
axe player for Billie Joel; and of course
long time friend, manager, and mentor
Kenny Laguna, ex Martha and the Mandels,
who had the original hit which Joan later
covered and had another hit with 'Crimson
and Clover.'
But never let it occur to you that Joan
Jett is anything less than a one-hundred
percent rock 'n' roll star. There are
the obvious early paying of dues. Joan
Jett, together with Lita Ford, was originally
a member of the all girl band ‘The
Runaways’, put together by Kim Fowler.
When that finally imploded in 1978, Joan
went across to London, England, to see
what was happening. At first she hitched
up with the remnants of the Sex Pistols,
Steve Jones and Paul Cook (they actually
made a demo of ‘I Love Rock 'n'
Roll). But things were not really happening;
the Sex Pistol boys had management hassles,
and really were not that keen to get out
on the road again after their last depressing
experiences. So Joan came back to the
American home of rock 'n' roll, New York,
and hooked up with Kenny Laguna and his
wife Meryl.
While Joan was in England and on the
final tour with the Runaways, she saw
a little known band called the Arrows
playing the B-side to their latest hit
on a kid's T.V. Show lift off - that song
was ‘I Love Rock ‘n' Roll’.
They wouldn't let Joan record it with
the Runaways. Once in the studio with
the Lagunas, all that changed. An album
was recorded, a red, hot, young band was
put together to go out on the road, and,
as they say, the rest is history. By the
end of 1981 ‘I Love Rock 'n' Roll’
had been a number one hit all over the
world with an eight week stay at the top
of the American charts. For the next eight
years Joan toured the world to sell out
audiences, each album charted, and the
hit singles just kept on coming. She formed
her own Record Label called Blackheart
Records - naturally.
Until in 1988 she released the ultimate
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts album and
single. Both went top five across the
world. The album 'Up Your Alley’
is crammed full of Blackheart anthems,
whilst the single ‘I Hate Myself
For Loving You’ is up there with
‘Brown Sugar’ by the Stones
to guarantee to get your party going.
Three years after the release of ‘Up
Your Alley’ came this great collection
of rock 'n' roll, ‘Notorious’
(1991). It opens up with the first single
from the album 'Backlash'. The guitars
just jump out of your speakers and the
music immediately makes you want to clap
along with the band. The lyrics are a
tribute to Joan's heroes of the past,
perhaps herself admitting that it was
time to take a less forward seat. The
girl does have a wicked sense of humor
though, when she dumps her man in ‘The
Only Good Thing’. You can't help
but feel a little sorry for the poor bloke
being shown the door after a poor one
night stand performance.
Joan can show that she doesn't always
want the truth herself. In 'Lie To Me'
she pleads for someone to be kind to her
just for one night. But Joan also shows
her strong, serious minded side with the
song 'Don't Surrender', a touching tribute
to her friend Jill Ireland, who had succumbed
to the dreaded cancer that year.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts still play
over 150 concerts a year. Joan has also
branched out into film work, starring
in ‘Light of Day’ with Michael
J. Fox, and still finds time to write
smash hit singles like ‘House Of
Fire’ for Alice Cooper. So do not
be surprised if you suddenly see Joan
Jett and the Blackhearts crashing back
into the charts any day now, and if you
have the chance to see them live in concert,
do not miss it.
Drooled by Mott The Dog
Freshened up by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
