Forty-four years ago, on March 20, 1982, Joan Jett and her band The Blackhearts topped the Billboard Hot 100 with one of the all-time great rock songs of the decade. Jett and company’s signature cover of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” took over the top spot on the U.S. singles chart for an impressive seven weeks.
“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” was originally recorded by the British power-pop band The Arrows in 1975. The song, which was co-written by Arrows members Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker, was released as single in 1975. It failed to chart, though.
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Jett first heard “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” in 1976 while touring the U.K. with her early group The Runaways. She saw The Arrows performing the tune on their own U.K. TV series, Arrows. Runaways manager Kim Fowley had the band learn the tune, but the group decided not to record it.
After The Runaways broke up, Joan recorded “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” with Sex Pistols members Steve Jones and Paul Cook. She released it in 1979 as the B-side of her first solo single, a cover of the 1963 Lesley Gore hit “You Don’t Own Me.”
Jett again recorded “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” with her backing band The Blackhearts in 1981. The song was released in November of that year as the title track of her first album with the group.
“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” was issued as a single in January 1982. It knocked The J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” from the top spot of the Hot 100. The song’s seven-week run at No. 1 was ended by the Vangelis instrumental “Chariots Of Fire.”
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In a 2009 interview with Songfacts, Merrill said he wrote “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” as “a knee-jerk” response to The Rolling Stones’ 1974 hit “It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll (But I Like It).” The original lyrics are sung from the perspective of a guy who picks up a young woman at a club. He dances with her while his favorite rock ‘n’ roll song plays on the jukebox. In Jett’s version, she sings about picking up a young guy instead.
The success of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” was helped by a music video that enjoyed heavy airplay on MTV. The Blackhearts’ original lineup featured Ricky Byrd on lead guitar, Barry Ryan on bass, and Lee Crystal on drums.
Jett and The Blackhearts’ version of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” also reached No. 4 on the U.K. singles chart. It landed at No. 3 on the Hot 100 year-end chart for 1982. The song has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for equivalent sales of 1 million copies in the U.S.
In a 2008 interview with Mojo magazine, reported by Songfacts, Jett reflected on the enduring popularity of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll.”
“I think most people who love some kind of rock ‘n’ roll can relate to it,” she said. “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.”
(Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)