Deservedly called the "Queen of Rock and Roll", Joan Jett was not only a vocalist with a unique voice, but also a producer, songwriter and guitarist who played in rock style.
Despite the fact that the artist is known to the general public for the very popular hit I Love Rock'n'Roll, which hit the Billboard Hot 100. Her discography includes many compositions that have received "gold" and "platinum" statuses.
Childhood and youth of the artist
Joan Mary Larkin was born on September 22, 1958 in the small town of Wynwood, located in southern Pennsylvania. At the age of 9, she moved with her parents to Rockville, Maryland, where she entered high school.
Already in adolescence, the girl developed a love for rhythmic music. She often ran away from home to attend a concert of her favorite artists with friends.
A significant event in Joan's life happened on Christmas Eve in 1971, when her father gave her her first electric guitar. Since then, the girl has not parted with the instrument and began to compose her own songs.
Soon the family changed their place of residence again, this time settled in Los Angeles. There, the young guitarist met her idol Suzi Quatro. She, in turn, greatly influenced the taste preferences of the future star of the rock scene.
The beginning of Joan Jett's career
Joan created her first team in 1975. The Runaways included Sheri Carrie, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox, Mickey Steele and Sandy West. Acting as a songwriter, Joan only occasionally took the place of the main vocalist.
In this composition, the team began recording studio albums. Despite five released records, the group failed to achieve significant success in their homeland. The situation was quite different abroad. The pioneers of glam rock and punk rock were warmly received in Germany, especially in Japan.
Internal disagreements in the team led to the fact that in 1979 the group broke up. And Joan decided to pursue a solo career. After arriving in Los Angeles, she met producer and author of her own compositions Kenny Laguna. He helped the girl in writing the soundtracks for the film about the work of her team. The film was called We're All Crazy Now!, but for various reasons it was never released to wide screens.
Together with a new friend, Joan created the group The Blackhearts. The glory of the punk star played a cruel joke on the girl - almost all labels refused to record the new material. Without losing faith in herself, Joan released a solo album Joan Jett on her own savings. In it, all the songs had a rock sound.
This approach drew the attention of the Boardwalk Records label, which offered the performer very interesting terms of cooperation. The first result of working with a serious company was the re-release of the first album in 1981. The disc was called Bad Reputacion and turned out to be much better than the first version.
Peak popularity Dжoan Jett
Then came the second studio work I Love Rock'n'Roll (1982). The composition of the same name from the album became a worldwide hit, thanks to which the singer gained long-awaited fame. Large concert venues opened in front of her. On tour, Joan performed on the same stage with such famous bands as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper и Queen.
Subsequent albums did not earn huge fan recognition. Although, some compositions took leading positions in the charts. Still practicing long tours, Joan tried herself as a producer in the early 1990s of the last century. The results of the experiments were the success of the popular rapper Big Daddy Cane and the thrash metal band Metal Church.
Together with Kenny Laguna, Joan became the producer of many talented performers and bands. This list includes bands: Bikini Kill, The Eyeliners, The Vacancies and Circus Lupus. The musicians are still engaged in creativity, and 15 full-fledged albums have been released throughout their career, not counting hit collections and compilations with other bands.
In the early 2000s, Joan and a partner created their own music label Blackhearts Records, which in 2006 released another studio work by Sinner. Then began a long tour around the world, in which at different times such popular groups as Motӧrhead, Alice Cooper and others joined the team.
In 2010, the film The Runaways was released, which deals with the creative path of the performer. A bright accent in the film is communication with the idol Joan Suzi Quatro, with cute little things, like engraving the name of your favorite singer on shoes. In the same year, a book was published with a biography of the queen of rock and roll, which describes the creative path of Joan.
Personal life of Joan Jett
Joan's huge popularity and public activities do not reflect her family passions. It is not known whether the singer has a family and children, and the singer does not seek to let journalists into the secrets of her personal life.
