Joan Jett Biography Quotes 36 Report mistakes

Early Life
Joan Jett was born Joan Marie Larkin in 1958 and grew up in the United States, discovering rock and roll early and deciding it was where she belonged. She took the surname Jett from her mother's maiden name as she began shaping a musical identity marked by defiance and clarity of purpose. As a teenager she moved to Southern California, where the energy of the Los Angeles scene and its mix of glam, proto-punk, and hard rock gave her both a home and a mission. A rhythm guitarist first and a bandleader by instinct, she set out to form a group with other young women determined to play loud and unapologetically.

The Runaways
In 1975 Jett co-founded the Runaways with drummer Sandy West, coming under the management of Kim Fowley. The lineup would crystallize around Jett on rhythm guitar and vocals, Cherie Currie as lead singer, Lita Ford on lead guitar, and Jackie Fox on bass. Jett co-wrote the band's signature early anthem, Cherry Bomb, and became a central songwriter and musical director even when she was not the front vocalist. The band's ferocious presence brought international attention, particularly in Japan, where they were treated like headliners, while in the United States they faced skepticism and industry gatekeeping. Internal tensions, management controversies, and the pressures of youth eventually splintered the group by 1979, but the Runaways established a template for women in rock that Jett would carry forward. On the road with the band in the UK, she first encountered the Arrows' I Love Rock 'n' Roll on television, a discovery that would later define her mainstream breakthrough.

Reinvention and Blackheart Records
After the Runaways ended, Jett began recording solo and teamed up with producer and musician Kenny Laguna, who became her closest creative partner and business ally. Together they faced a wall of rejections from major labels, a response that only strengthened Jett's commitment to independence. In 1980 the two launched Blackheart Records, a pioneering artist-owned label built from the ground up, pressing records themselves and selling them directly until radio and fans caught up. Jett's first solo album appeared as Joan Jett (later retitled Bad Reputation), making plain her stance: she would not be defined by anyone else's expectations. She then assembled the Blackhearts, an airtight, driving band whose early classic lineup included Ricky Byrd on guitar, Gary Ryan on bass, and Lee Crystal on drums, with Thommy Price later becoming a long-running drummer in the group.

Breakthrough and Hits
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts delivered their defining statement with the 1981, 82 album I Love Rock 'n' Roll. The title track, a gleeful and aggressive cover of the Arrows' song, shot to No. 1 in the United States and became one of the decade's most recognizable singles. Jett's ability to recast classics as her own extended to Crimson and Clover, which she transformed into a swirling, radio-dominating hit, and to the defiant Bad Reputation, which, though initially a cult favorite, grew into an anthem used in films and television for generations. She also found success with Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah), and in 1988 returned to the Top 10 with I Hate Myself for Loving You from the album Up Your Alley, a track co-written with hitmaker Desmond Child and featuring a searing guitar solo by former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. Through the MTV era, Jett's look, black leather jacket, jet-black shag, and a scarred Gibson Melody Maker, became as iconic as the riffs she led.

Producer, Collaborator, and Mentor
Even as her own career ascended, Jett used the studio and her label to lift other musicians. Early on she produced the Germs' landmark album GI, working with the late Darby Crash and guitarist Pat Smear, a connection that later resonated when Smear joined Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. In the 1990s she worked alongside artists from the riot grrrl movement, producing and playing on Bikini Kill recordings, including a version of Rebel Girl that amplified the song's feminist charge. After the 1993 murder of Mia Zapata, Jett joined the surviving members of the Gits in the project Evil Stig (the Gits Live spelled backward), recording and performing to raise funds for the investigation and to honor Zapata's artistry. Throughout, Kenny Laguna remained her right hand in both creative and business decisions, while Blackheart Records nurtured other rock acts and demonstrated that independent infrastructure could support national careers.

Acting and Media
Jett's work crossed into film and television without diluting her musical identity. She co-starred with Michael J. Fox in the 1987 film Light of Day, performing the title song written by Bruce Springsteen and bringing a working-class rock realism to the role. Decades later, she served as an executive producer on The Runaways (2010), guiding the film's story and mentoring Kristen Stewart, who portrayed her on screen opposite Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie. The 2018 documentary Bad Reputation, directed by Kevin Kerslake, traced her path from teenage guitarist to enduring icon, emphasizing the persistence that underpinned every breakthrough. In 2014, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Nirvana, Jett performed Smells Like Teen Spirit on stage with Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear, a moment that linked generations of punk-rooted rock and underlined the respect she commands among peers.

Later Career
Jett continued releasing records over multiple decades, including Pure and Simple in the 1990s, Sinner in 2006, and Unvarnished in 2013, all while touring steadily with the Blackhearts. Her catalog proved unusually durable in popular culture; the melody from I Hate Myself for Loving You became the backbone of major sports television themes, and Bad Reputation and I Love Rock 'n' Roll returned to charts and soundtracks as new listeners discovered them. On stage, the Blackhearts evolved but retained the taut, riff-first attack that defined their early work. Jett's emphasis on live performance, her insistence on owning her work through Blackheart, and her partnership with Laguna kept her career resilient through industry upheavals.

Advocacy and Persona
Jett emerged as a visible advocate for animal rights and has long supported organizations promoting humane treatment, reflecting a broader ethic of care for outsiders and the underrepresented that runs through her work. She has been a steady ally to younger musicians, especially women finding their footing in rock, and an emblem for communities that saw in her refusal to conform a blueprint for their own autonomy. Her public persona, tough, economical, unsentimental, sits alongside a deep sense of loyalty to bandmates, collaborators, and fans.

Honors and Legacy
In 2015 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a milestone that acknowledged not only radio hits but also the deeper cultural shift her presence catalyzed. She is often cited as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll and the Godmother of Punk, titles that reflect both commercial reach and the formative influence she has had on punk, hard rock, alternative, and pop artists. The success of Blackheart Records stands as a case study in artist-driven enterprise, while her production work with bands like the Germs and Bikini Kill secured her place as a bridge between eras of rebellious music. From the spark of Cherry Bomb with Sandy West and the Runaways, through the Blackhearts' chart-topping roar shaped with Kenny Laguna, to her mentorship of younger artists and high-profile collaborations with figures like Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, Jett's story is that of an artist who turned resistance into a career and a community.

Our collection contains 36 quotes who is written by Joan, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Motivational - Music - Friendship - Meaning of Life.

Other people realated to Joan: Lita Ford (Musician), Miley Cyrus (Musician), Nina Blackwood (Celebrity), Jonathan Richman (Musician), Vince Neil (Musician)

• Wikipedia