Extraordinary rocker. Joan Jett

Joan Jett (Joan Marie Larkin) was born on September 22, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the girl was 12 years old, her family moved to Los Angeles. Three years later, influenced by the work of Suzi Cuatro, Joan assembled her first team, which later became known as the Runaways. This bubblegum rock band was very popular both in America and abroad. However, in 1978 the band broke up, and Joan went to England to start a solo career. There, together with Paul Cook and Steve Jones, she recorded three songs, two of which ended up on a single released only in Holland.

Upon returning to America, Jett produced the debut album of the punk band Germs, and also starred in the film We're all crazy now, where she played herself. The picture never came out, but in the process of filming, Joan met Kenny Laguna, who became her manager, and with whom she developed a long-term partnership.

Under the direction of Laguna, in 1980, the debut album, "Joan Jett", was recorded, which, in addition to new material, included tracks from the Dutch single. In an attempt to get their brainchild on some record company, Joan and Kenny received 23 rejections before they realized that they needed to form their own label. The idea was realized under the name "Blackheart Records", and "Joan Jett" was finally released. Sales of the record were tight until a certain Neil Bogart got down to business. He signed Jett to his label Boardwalk records and re-released the CD under the title "Bad reputation".

Before recording the second record, Joan, with the help of Kenny, recruited the accompanying line-up of The Blackhearts, which included Gary Ryan (bass), Eric Abel (guitar) and Lee Crystal (drums). Having skated a full-length tour with these musicians, Jett released her most hit album, "I love rock'n'roll", which burst into the American Top 5. The title track from this disc (cover of "Arrows") topped the Billboard charts and spent seven weeks.

In pursuit, Joan fired a volley into the top 20 with two hit singles, "Crimson and Clover" (Tommy James & The Shondells cover) and "Do you wanna touch me (Oh yeah)" (Gary Glitter cover). The third album easily reached the gold mark, but it no longer had such popularity as "I love rock'n'roll". Since then, Jett has been releasing records with varying degrees of success, and best of all she got other people's compositions. An example of this is the 1990 album "Hit list", which consisted of only covers and rose to number 36 on the Billboard.

In parallel with her musical career, Joan did not miss the opportunity to act in films. Her most famous works in this field are the films "Light of day" and "Boogie boy". Jett also worked as a producer, working with such teams as "Circus Lupus" and "Bikini kill". Joan Jett's musical merits were appreciated in the early 90s, when many representatives of the riot grrrl movement began to call the former Runaways frontwoman their inspiration.

Joan Jett is an American rock and roll singer. Actress, producer and songwriter. An extraordinary and bright rebel, she managed to find a path to glory, which was by no means easy. And as you know, if you suffer for a long time ...

Childhood and youth

Joan Jett was born on September 22, 1958 in Philadelphia. When Joan was 11 years old, she and her parents moved to Los Angeles. From a young age, she stood out among her peers with her bright style, love of rock and cool motorcycles. When Joan was a teenager, she, along with friends at night and secretly from her mom and dad, ran away from home to get to the concerts of her favorite bands.

The most significant hard rock artist at the time for her was the popular Suzi Cuatro, who had a strong influence on Jett's development as a singer. From the idol of youth, she borrowed the image and careless hairstyle. Sometimes, in the hope of at least a glimpse of her idol, Joan guarded her at the entrance to the hotel. Also, throughout her youth, she wore shoes, on the wooden sole of which was written on the side: "Suzy Cuatro." Well, after her father presented her with a guitar, she plunged headlong into music and songwriting.

The beginning of a musical career

While still a teenager, Joan created her own musical group, performing with him throughout the city. On one of the successful days, the famous producer Kim Fowley heard their music and decided to become their manager. After some time, he gave a new name to their group - "Runaways". They soon recorded four albums that did not become popular in the US. However, their music was to the taste of the Japanese and the hard rock-loving Los Angeles audience.

In Japan, they caused a flurry of emotions among the public, becoming the most popular group among young people. But the group, having existed for several years, eventually broke up in 1979. There was an opinion that frequent quarrels and misunderstandings within the women's team were to blame. Also, some sources claimed that the group members took drugs and, therefore, could not concentrate on collective work.

The further creative path of Joan Jett

After the Runaways broke up, Jett moved to New York City, deciding to start a solo career. And already in 1980 she released her first album. But I had to record it myself, because the recording studios did not want to deal with it. The album was supposed to be different from the punk rock that the Runaways played in, and was recorded in the style of rock and roll. Sales of the self-recorded album were surprisingly good. And soon the singer Joan Jett signed a very tempting contract with Boardwalk records. It was decided to rewrite the first album in a new sound and make it better.

After that, Jett recorded the second album, and that's where the long-awaited moment of glory came. Her new album "I love rock" n "roll" was wildly popular, took the top of all possible ratings and surrounded Joan with a loyal army of enthusiastic admirers. She was invited to tour with the most famous rock bands of the time, such as Quenn, Alice Cooper and Aerosmith. Joan, one of the first performers of music in English, went with a concert to Panama and the Dominican Republic.

The release of the third disc was also well received, but it was not possible to repeat such popularity as the second one. Over the next years of her musical career, over 15 more albums were released, and Joan Jett was able to achieve some success. Among them there were successful ones, there were not very ones, but the singer does not give up and still writes music and records songs, hoping one day to repeat her past success again. In 2010, a biography book was published about Jett's life and work, from the Runaways to the present day.

Personal life is not for outsiders

Whatever a person is famous for, a curious public craves details of his personal life. Joan is no exception. A variety of novels were attributed to her, but she herself refuses to explain. Although behind the scenes, there is an opinion that Joan Jett hides her personal life for a reason. And the reason for this is her unconventional orientation. But in an interview with the singer, this is a closed topic, which she categorically does not want to discuss. According to her, sexuality is not something that should be focused on so sharply, it is much more important to delve into her music more and hear the meaning between the lines. Joan also has no children.

Such a complex and interesting personality could not be ignored. There is something attractive and alluring in it, and a drive that attracts the viewer.

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Joan Jett (Joan Marie Larkin) born September 22 1958 year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the girl was 12 years old, her family moved to Los Angeles.

By the time Jett was 15 years old, she formed her first band, with which she performed throughout the city. Soon producer Kim Foley spotted the band at one of their shows and became their manager.

Some time later, he renamed the band to Runaways and secured them a contract with the Mercury label. The band released three albums that were not very successful in America, but were very popular in Japan, the band was also popular in the Los Angeles hard rock and punk scene. The Runaways disbanded 1980 year and Jett moved to New York to start a solo career.

Teaming up with producer/manager Kenny Laguna, Jett self-released her debut album in 1980 year in America, as record labels were not interested in signing a contract with her. The album was in the traditional rock & roll style, and was different from the punk Runaways. As for an independent release, the album sold very well, which led Jett to a record deal with Boardwalk Records, which re-released the album under the title "Bad Reputation".

Jett forms the Blackhearts between her first "Bad Reputation" and second album "I love rock'n'roll". 1981 ), the band included guitarist Ricky Bird, bassist Gary Ryan and drummer Lee Crystal.

The album "I love rock'n'roll" was a real breakthrough and broke into the US Top 5. And the single "Arrows" became a huge success, spending seven weeks at number one on the charts. The following songs "Crimson and Clover" (Tommy James & The Shondells cover) and "Do you wanna touch me (Oh yeah)" (Gary Glitter cover) reached number 20 in the summer 1982 of the year. Third album released in 1983 year became gold, but did not have such popularity as "I love rock'n'roll".

IN 1987 Jett starred in the film directed by Paul Schrader "In the Light of Day", the single from which entered the Top 40. The next hit that entered the top ten of the best singles was the song "I Hate Myself for Loving You", taken from the album "Up Your Alley ", which went platinum.

After the success of this album, there is a lull in Jett's career. Between Notorious and Pure and Simple, a new generation of female rock bands emerged that ate to copy the style of Jett and the Runaways, but not very well. As a consequence, Pure and Simple received more positive reviews than any of her albums since the mid-80s.

IN 1995 Jett recorded the live album "Evilstig" with members of the rock-punk band Gits, whose vocalist was raped and murdered in 1993 year.

IN 1999 Jett reunited with the Blackhearts with the release of Fetish, and in 2006 year "Sinner".

In November 2007 Years Jett and the Blackhearts performed with Motörhead and Alice at an arena in the UK.

In June 2010 Joan Jett and The Blackhearts opened the UK Green Day tour with Frank Turner and Paramore.

In March 2012 Joan Jett and The Blackhearts performed at the Sacramento Music Festival.

Today, Jett is considered a true icon for the legion of rock feminists and guitar girl bands. Her name is often used in conversations and designers who are engaged in the manufacture of rock clothing. Joan makes her own clothes and accessories, which is quite normal for a business woman whose personal style has inspired generations. “I heard a couple of times from the designers and during the shows: Let's give Joan Jett! - says the singer. “It was mostly about make-up and hair.”

Jett is almost the same age as Madonna, but she rarely flirted with sexuality in order to attract attention. IN " The Runaways”, a group that emerged from the end of the glam craze at the behest of the late producer Kim Fowley, she looked the least outspoken. Usually Jett appeared in red skin or in all black: from the neck to the knees. Joan's main sexual weapon is still with her now: it is the determined look of her large brown almond-shaped eyes. "I didn't think The Runaways were supposed to be sex bombs," says Jett, testing the weapon to its full potential on me. - Here are the guys from " The Rolling Stones could afford to be more frank and straightforward. But I was more close to the mystery of David Bowie. He sings that he wants you, but somehow you're not sure. And there is a nuance in this. It's much more sexy than grabbing your fly. This approach gives you the power to manage people. They try to understand your riddle, they listen to your music, they buy CDs.” The timbre of Joan Jett's voice rises higher and higher. "And they will change the way we think about sexuality."

As always, Joan laughs it off when it comes to her own sexuality. “I have an all-inclusive rate,” the singer says, and then starts laughing. - Now is the time when everyone is somehow wildly frank and writes about everything that can be described. And because everyone is doing it, they get the false feeling that they have a right to know everything about others too.” Jatt's smile becomes a little narrower. “And if you tell me that you want some specific confessions and actions from me, then I will build a huge wall between us. And I will do it only because you demanded something from me there.

What's most intriguing about Jett is her mood swings, which change depending on where the conversation takes us. Basically, she is very frank in her statements and, if it seems to her that it is not enough, then she will add mood with gestures. When I mentioned what I saw The Runaways» in the late 70s before « Ramones”, Joan immediately lights up: “Well, what do you want to say? We played badly." Of course, I say that everything was very cool.

“Yes, we played cool then! - the singer is not appeased. - I don’t know, maybe at our expense the guys tried to somehow assert themselves, but in those days to say that “ The Runaways playing sucks was tantamount to saying "I'm not gay". At the same time, you can easily remember all these famous photos. Led Zeppelin"1973 - they, too, could easily be called gay." Joan jumps up from her chair and assumes the "Robert Plant pose": with her hands in her crotch. “But if a girl did this,” she continues, “everyone would immediately start yelling:“ whore!

Joan Jett's real name is Joan Mary Larkin. She was born in a suburb of Philadelphia on September 22, 1958. She began calling herself Joan Jett even before she was in " The Runaways". The pseudonym was born in 1974 when Jett appeared at radio host Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco on Sunset Boulevard. The crowd at the glam rock club run by a Californian disc jockey was, in Joan's words, "the equivalent of today's social media celebrities." One of them, Chuck E. Starr, Jett remembers to this day. “He had hefty platform boots, fishnet stockings and a Bowie haircut,” she recalls. - Looking at him, I thought: “What if I invent a stupid name for myself?” And really, what could it be? How about Joan Jett? With such a double rolling "t" at the end of the surname!

The singer is the eldest of three children. His father sold insurance policies, and his mother was a secretary. The family moved frequently: first to western Pennsylvania, and then to Maryland, where Jett got to the first concerts in her life (" Black Sabbath" And " The New York Dolls"). When the girl turned thirteen, her parents went to Los Angeles, and then their marriage cracked. “It was a serious injury,” says the singer, who played the guitar for therapy and went to the Bingenheimer club. “She had much lighter hair back then,” Rodney recalls. - Something like "blonde blonde". She didn't wear sequined thrash dresses. Dressed in the style of rock and roll: leather jacket, jeans. And yet, as noted by the club's DJs, Jett did not dance. The girl listened to songs.

Simple and loud three-chord rock'n'roll, craving for covers and a glamorous unisex image - these are the main features of the American guitarist and singer Joan Jett. Born Joan Mary Larkin, she was born on September 22, 1958. The girl received her first guitar at the age of 13 and immediately began taking lessons, but as soon as the instructor began to teach her folk songs, Joan left the teacher and continued to master the instrument on her own. When the Larkin family moved to Los Angeles, the girl began to run around the clubs, of which she was more attracted to the glamorous venue "Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco". A fan of Suzy Quatro, at the age of 16, Joan, together with her peers, founded the group "The Runaways" , on which many generations of female groups later prayed. The career of the "runaways" was bright, but fleeting, and by the beginning of the 80s the ensemble broke up. Having produced the first and only album of the punk band "The Germs", Jett went to England to start a solo career. There, with the guys from "Sex Pistols" Steve Jones and Paul Cook, she recorded three songs (including the first version of the future hit "I Love Rock "N" Roll"), after which, due to contractual obligations, she had to return to America to work over the film "We" re All Crazee Now! about the career of The Runaways.

Nothing sensible came out of the project, but during the filming, Joan met songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna. With his suggestion, Jett moved to New York, where, under his supervision, she recorded her debut album. Surprisingly, the punk and new wave-flavoured glam rock "Joan Jett" didn't attract any publisher interest, and Kenny and Joan received 23 rejections before they even thought of publishing the record on their own label, Blackheart Records.

For a homemade release, the album sold well, and when Boardwalk Records re-released it under the title Bad Reputation, it peaked at number 51 on the Billboard. The most successful for Jett was the second full-length "I Love Rock N" Roll" with the cover of the same name "Arrows", which led the American tables for seven weeks in a row. Two other singles with borrowed things, "Crimson And Clover" went to the national Top 20. from "Tommy James & The Shondells" and "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by Gary Glitter. "I Love Rock N" Roll" was recorded with the accompanying team "Blackhearts", with which the singer (despite the occasional line-up changes) continued to work for many years. Album (No. 20), although it easily passed the gold mark, could no longer boast of killer hits, but "Fake Friends" and "Everyday People" (a cover of "Sly & The Family Stone") still caught on at the end of the fortieth.

The fourth full-length "Glorious Results Of A Misspent Youth", which opened with the old "fugitive" hit "Cherry Bomb", sounded still cheerful and incendiary and was unduly overlooked by the public, but the softened album with the deceptive name "Good Music" really came out dull and got what he deserved, remaining outside the first hundred. In any case, Joan could not complain about the poor attendance of concerts, and she confidently performed in the company of such venerable rockers as The Police, Queen and Aerosmith.

In 1987, Jett easily beat all the casting competitors and got a role in the film "Light Of Day". For this picture, Bruce Springsteen wrote the title theme, which, performed by Joan, was in great demand and became an invariable attribute of her concerts. The single "Light Of Day" found itself in the Top 40, but soon the singer broke into the top ten with the self-critical rock album "I Hate Myself For Loving You". With the additional reinforcement of "Little Liar" from Desmond Child, the album "Up Your Alley" returned its creator to the platinum frontiers, but then Joan's career began to decline again. If "The Hit List" made up entirely of covers still landed in the Top 40, then "Notorious", which gravitates towards ballads due to the presence of Child in the authors, turned out to be a chart failure. However, Jett had enough past merits, and her influence (together with "Runaways") began to be celebrated by female bands of the 90s from the riot grlls cohort. Since Joan bowed to everything from "" to "Bikini Kill", her album "Pure And Simple" received the most enthusiastic press (although this did not affect sales much).

In 1995, the singer teamed up with the leaderless (Mia Zapata was raped and killed) punk band The Gits and recorded the album Evil Stig full of anger and pain. For the next ten years, there were no numbered editions from Jett, but various collections that brought confusion to the discography were regularly released. For fresh, the former "fugitive" became generous only in 2004, and even then the new album "Naked" was published only in Japan. Later, a dozen tracks from this edition migrated to a worldwide release called "Sinner", and in 2013 "Joan Jett & The Blackhearts" presented the program "Unvarnished", noted by critics as a "return to form" and "resurrection of the vintage sound".

Last update 06.10.13