Classic Pop Icons

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons.

“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” was the title track of Joan Jett’s second album and her first with The Blackhearts, which was released in November 1981. The song was released on single two months later backed with “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got”.

The song was first recorded by Arrows in 1975, but was not a hit. It came to the attention of Joan Jett the following year when she was touring England with The Runaways. Three years later she recorded a version of the song with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols. This remained unreleased until 1993. In 1981, Jett revisited the song when recording material for her second album with The Blackhearts. This was the version that would become a classic recording and a worldwide hit.

The biggest strength of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” is the anthemic chorus which is guaranteed to produce an audience response. It’s also a perfect lyric for Joan Jett because when she tells you “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” you really believe it. In an interview with SoundonSound.com, studio engineer Glen Kolotkin explained how the chorus was given real punch:

“It was my idea to have the backgrounds sound like an audience, because it was the perfect sing-along record. We just had the group do about six layers of vocals on extra tracks, and I even sped up the machine a little for one layer to make it sound deeper and slowed it down for another layer to make it sound higher-pitched. Then, we combined them down to two tracks because we only had 24 tracks to work with, did the same with the hand claps, and that made it sound like the whole audience was joining in. I’m sure that Kenny and Ritchie also contributed, along with the owners of the studio, because we wanted it to sound massive, and it didn’t need to be perfect since an audience never usually sings in tune. All of them were standing around a couple of microphones, and we just kept building it up and up until the hair stood up on the back of my neck. That’s when I knew it was right. Joan did her vocal in one or two takes, and that was it, all done by one in the afternoon. My entire goal was for it to sound live and for it to sound real, and I thought we achieved that until it came to the mix.”

The powerful chorus, beefy guitar chords, and Joan Jett’s insprired rock ‘n’ roll vocal make this a classic recording that sounds as good today as it did 30 years ago.

The song rose to prominence again in 1993 when it featured on the soundtrack of the hit movie “Wayne’s World 2”. The song was re-released on single, complete with a new video.

“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” is number 484 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” – Joan Jett and The Blackhearts

Authorship

“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” was written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of the band Arrows.

Recording date/location

“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” was recorded in the autumn of 1981 at the Kingdom Sound Studio, Long Island, NY.

Musicians

The following musicians appeared on “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll”:

• Joan Jett – vocals/guitar
• Ricky Byrd – guitar/vocals
• Gary Ryan – bass
• Lee Crystal – drums.

The session was co-produced by Kenny Laguna and songwriter Ritchie Cordell who wrote hits such as “Mony Mony” and “I Think We’re Alone Now”.

Chart performance

“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on Mar 14, 1982 and remained on top for seven weeks.

The single peaked at number four on the UK singles chart.

The original

“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” – Arrows

Arrows’ original recording of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” deserved to be a bigger hit and to be better known now. Fans of Jett’s version will likely enjoy this as it features the key elements of the later hit recording.

Songwriter Alan Merrill claims that he wrote the song in response to the Rolling Stone’s “I Know It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll”.

Joan Jett and The Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” is available on the “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” album and compilations such as the 2-CD “Joan Jett and The Blackhearts – Greatest Hits”.

Title
I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll (CD)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
Joan Jett and The Blackhearts – Greatest Hits (2 CDs)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now