28 June 2012 - Joan Jett (& The Blackhearts) - I Love Rock 'n' Roll

I bet you all thought this was an original.  Well, it was.  When The Arrows performed it in 1975.

This song helped Joan Jett launch a post-Runaways career, but she would never have a bigger hit than this cover, a faithful one at that, with a twist. The original was sung by a man, and so the person standing by the record machine.... was a she, not a he.  For some reason, that original version was a little creepier.



This was the second time Joan Jett recorded the song.  The first time was in 1979, while still a Runaway, with Paul Cook and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols.  Here is a badly dubbed version of the same video, in color, with this version.   It's a little more glam-rock and less rockabilly.  As an added bonus, the video is the original color version - Joan Jett was not a fan of the red leather.