Joan Jett’s Only No. 1 Single Was a “Knee-Jerk” Response to a Rolling Stones Classic

Joan Jett’s first and only No. 1 single is “I Love Rock ’N’ Roll”. The uptempo tune was released by Joan Jett, billed as Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The title track of her sophomore album, “I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” is written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker. Known mostly for Jett’s version, the feel-good anthem was first released by the Arrows in 1975. But the song originated as a response to another song: The Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)”, out in 1974.

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 “That was a knee-jerk response to The Rolling Stones’ ‘It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll’,” Merrill tells Songfacts. “I remember watching it on ‘Top Of The Pops’. I’d met Mick Jagger socially a few times. And I knew he was hanging around with Prince Rupert Lowenstein and people like that – jet-setters. I almost felt like ‘It’s Only Rock and Roll’ was an apology to those jet-set princes and princesses that he was hanging around with – the aristocracy, you know. That was my interpretation as a young man. Okay, I love rock and roll. And then, where do you go with that?”

Not only is “I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” Jett’s only No. 1 hit, but it stayed at the top of the charts for seven weeks.

What Joan Jett Says About Recording “I Love Rock ’N’ Roll”

“I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” begins with, “I saw him dancing there by the record machine / I knew he must have been about seventeen / The beat was going strong / Playing my favorite song / And I could tell it wouldn’t be long till he was with me, yeah me / And I could tell it wouldn’t be long till he was with me, yeah me / Singing, I love rock and roll / So put another dime in the jukebox, baby / I love rock and roll / So come and take your time and dance with me.”

A seemingly perfect fit for Jett, she wanted to record it with her first band, the Runaways. When they didn’t like it, she then recorded it with The Sex Pistols, although they didn’t release it as a single. Finally, in 1982, she was able to release it with the Blackhearts instead.

“I think most people who love some kind of rock ‘n’ roll can relate to it,” Jett says (via Sound On Sound) . “Everyone knows a song that just makes them feel amazing and want to jump up and down. I quickly realized this song is gonna follow you. So you’re either gonna let it bother you, or you gotta make peace with it. And, feel blessed that you were involved with something that touched so many people.”

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