Video hit Joan Jett

Joan Jett - I Love Rock 'n' Roll

I Love Rock 'n' Roll is a rock song written in 1975 by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later made famous by the hit version by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts in 1981.

Joan Jett saw Arrows perform "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on their weekly television series Arrows when she was touring England with The Runaways in 1976. She first recorded the song in 1979 with two of the Sex Pistols: Steve Jones and Paul Cook. This first version was not released until 1993 in Flashback. In 1981, Jett re-recorded the song, this time with her band, The Blackhearts.

This recording became a U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for seven weeks, effectively launching Jett's solo career. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing one million units sold. All versions count once toward certification. This success propelled Jett's I Love Rock 'n Roll album to number two on the Billboard 200.

Joan Jett's version was ranked #89 in the list 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of Rolling Stone.

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll"'s gritty, black-and-white music video received heavy play from the just-launched MTV network. In it, Jett and The Blackhearts travel to a small, dingy bar and proceed to excite the drunken crowd by performing the song and yelling out its famous chorus.

A snippet of Jett's 1981 hit "Bad Reputation" is featured at the beginning of the video. Jett followed up "I Love Rock 'n Roll" with another cover—her version of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover," which was a top-ten U.S. hit. The video was originally in color, but it was converted to black and white because Jett was ultimately displeased with the look of her red leather jumpsuit in color.

In 1993 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts made another music video for the song as part of the Wayne's World 2 soundtrack. In the video appear several scenes from the movie with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey mixed with footage of Joan and her band in concert. It was again released as a single by Warner/Reprise with "Activity Grrrl" as the B-side.

The lyrics:

I saw him dancin' there by the record machine

I knew he must a been about seventeen

The beat was goin' strong

Playin' my favorite song

An' 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, singin'

I love rock n' roll

So put another dime in the jukebox, baby

I love rock n' roll

So come and take your time and dance with me

Ow!

He smiled so I got up and asked for his name

That don't matter, he said,

'Cause it's all the same

Said can I take you home where we can be alone

An' next we were movin' on

He was with me, yeah me

Next we were movin' on

He was with me, yeah me, singin'

I love rock n' roll

So put another dime in the jukebox, baby

I love rock n' roll

So come an' take your time an' dance with me

Ow!

Said can I take you home where we can be alone

Next we were movin' on

He was with me, yeah me,

An we'll be movin' on

An' singin' that same old song

Yeah with me, singin'

I love rock n' roll

So put another dime in the jukebox, baby

I love rock n' roll

So come an' take your time an' dance with me

I love rock n' roll

So put another dime in the jukebox, baby

I love rock n' roll

So come an' take your time an' dance with

I love rock n' roll

So put another dime in the jukebox, baby

I love rock n' roll

So come an' take your time an' dance with

I love rock n' roll

So put another dime in the jukebox, baby

I love rock n' roll

So come an' take your time an' dance with

I love rock n' roll

So put another dime in the jukebox, baby

I love rock n' roll

So come an' take your time an' dance with me