August 2003
H.E.A.R. Honors Joan Jett
Courtesy of Joan Jett
Joan Jett is a true American original. While still in her
early teens, Joan, often called "the girl Elvis", founded
the seminal all-girl rock group, THE RUNAWAYS, whose hits
such as "Cherry Bomb" made them an international sensation.
She became the first woman in rock to own her own record label,
Blackheart Records. There, her next group, Joan Jett and the
Blackhearts, became a staple in the Top 10 charts and claims
the #28 song of all time, "I Love Rock n' Roll", which was
number 1 on the Billboard charts for two months after 23 major
record labels refused to give her a deal.
Joan starred in the Paul Schrader film LIGHT OF DAY, with
Michael J. Fox, Jason Miller, Gena Rowlands, and Michael McKean.
She appeared in BOOGIE BOY, an independent film by PULP FICTION
alums Craig Hamann and Roger Avary. Her "bad guy" credits
include playing an evil immortal in the HIGHLANDER television
series, and she played a contract killer and reached a pinnacle
in action film when she got to fight a martial-arts battle
to the death with the legendary Chuck Norris.
Joan will appear in the indie film THE SWEET LIFE premiering
at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. This romantic comedy,
by the team that created THE SUBSTITUTE film series, will
have Joan Jett and The Blackhearts singing the title song.
On Broadway, Joan was in the original cast of the hit, THE
ROCKY HORROR SHOW.
Joan Jett continues to be one of the most durable live concert
attractions, and has set a standard for women in the industry.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were nominated for a Grammy
Award "Best Rock Performance By A Group" for "I Hate Myself
Of Loving You" in 1989.
No other woman in rock OWNS her masters and has controlled
her own fate for so many years, after being rejected by the
male controlled record industry. We still battle that.
In Billboard alone: 3 top ten records, and 7 other Billboard
top 100 entries is absolutlely staggering.
* I Love Rock 'N Roll
* Crimson and Clover
* I Hate Myself For Loving You
* Do You Want To Touch Me
* Little Liar
* Fake Friends
* Light of Day (top ten for the year on MTV in 1987),
* Everyday People (top ten urban contemporary 1983)
* Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap) * and Good Music all made
the billboard pop top 100.
That is very difficult to do on your own little label. This
does not even count: * Backlash (top ten alternitive in billboard
in 1991) * Victum of Circumstance (top ten rock radio in 1981),
* Love Is All Around (number 1 top requested record on USA
radio for several weeks in 1997), * Little Drummer Boy (top
ten rock radio track in 1991), * Fetish (college radio hit
in 1998), * Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (number one for the
year 1990 in southeast asia), * Cherry Bomb (worldwide classic
and most recorded song by any punk music writer), * and Bad
Reputation (although never a US single it is a classic song
and part of the fabric of our lives).
Then there is Alice Cooper's world wide hit House of Fire,
which Joan wrote, and three top ten rap tracks in Billboard
(Big Daddy Kane, DJ S & S, Professor Griff) on her own label,
as well as a number one metal album with Metal Church on blackheart.
The count of successful Joan songs is here at 17, and that
is not even complete. It does not include other Blackheart
projects such as those mentioned and I Want Candy, by Bow
Wow Wow, which is a "jett-lag" production.
Joan Jett ROCKS!
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