Welcome!
Select items from my old Joan Jett scrapbook, with some other goodies sprinkled on top. I stopped maintaining the book in 1994, and I have zero artistic ability, so don’t judge! 🙂
If you don’t know what a “Jetthead” is, I know what you might be thinking. I scared the crap out of you with that “It’s not an obsession, it’s a calling” stuff in my tagline, didn’t I? Well, I assure you there’s nothing to worry about. A Jetthead is just a diehard Joan Jett fan. Honestly, we’re not that scary. Jettheads like to hang out and bond over Joan Jett, but we’re not a cult full of nut cases that want to control the universe. That’s Joan’s job. (Just kidding!)
I became a Jetthead in 1988, the day I saw the “I Hate Myself for Loving You” video on MTV. I was twelve years old. I was concentrating on my homework when I heard its iconic opening drum beat for the first time. I looked up just in time to see Joan Jett’s huge, brown eyes, daring me not to listen. I was hooked before the first “Ow.”
My 16th birthday cake. Everyone had black teeth for a week. 🙂
The rest of Joan’s music called to me like nothing else I had ever experienced. I tracked down her out-of-print vinyl. I joined the fan club. The more I learned about her career, the more I wanted to know. As a teenager, when everyone told her that girls couldn’t play rock and roll, she started a band (The Runaways). Barely in her 20’s, when 23 commercial record labels refused to recognize her hits, she started her own record label (Blackheart Records). Joan Jett is determined, honest, and loyal, and I hoped I could be the same.
I wish I could say that all my friends shared my enthusiasm. I eventually gave up trying to convert the nonbelievers and started looking for people who already got it. But connecting with Jettheads back then wasn’t easy. We didn’t have the internet, so there was no email, Twitter, or YouTube. Those of us lucky enough to be in the fan club received a newsletter via snail mail every three months. And there was a “Pen Pal” section to help fans get in touch with each other, also through snail mail. Fans in a few cities circulated fanzines, but I didn’t know they existed until years later. It’s not like I could Google that stuff.
When the internet finally did arrive, Joan Jett wasted no time developing an online presence. I believe that www.joanjett.com was one of the first band websites ever created, and it was the first website I visited when my school’s library first provided internet access.
My second Joan Jett concert, also in Pittsburgh, where I met her for the first time. Read the fine print on the ad: National Record Mart, Oasis, Rosebud, and Metropol all no longer exist.
My first Joan Jett concert, in Pittsburgh, PA.
Now we have Web 2.0. Not only can I make my own website that anyone in the world can see, but also with your comments, I can get instant feedback about how incredibly emo and ridiculous I sound. 🙂
But if you think Joan Jett and the Blackhearts don’t belong in a Web 2.0 world because they are a “retro 80’s act,” think again–they have never stopped making music or touring. I could regale you with stories of hit singles, awards, movies, and rankings on popularity lists, but none of that really matters. What matters is The Blackhearts’ ability to bring it live. The shows I see today rock AND roll every bit as hard as the first show I saw at 15. I have seen many ridiculous trends come and go, and Joan Jett has outlasted all of them.
I am grateful for everything Joan Jett has given me. This is the only way I can think to express that. This is not a gossip blog. This is a place for me to reflect on Joan Jett’s music, how it’s influenced me, and to connect with others who like to do the same.
Born to be Jetthead 
I really liked your story about being a Jetthead.. I think a lot of people can connect on this subject. I’m 18 years old and have been a fan on Joan since I was 12. My dad had bought me Joan’s greatest hits CD on a whim just thinking that it might be something I would like… I was hooked after hearing Bad Reputation for the first time… I would listen to that cd on repeat and couldnt get enough. Over the years I bought everything that Joan ever recorded and today she is still my idol. She inspired me to learn to play guitar and start my own band… I even met one of my best friends over the Joan Jett message board.
I’ve seen her live 3 times, the most recent time being at a casino last November. I seen her for the first time in Fargo, ND when I was 13… I was standing about 8 or 10 rows back and I’ll never forget when she looked right at me as I was singing the lyrics to “Long Time”… After that show I got to meet Joan and that was proabably one of the best moments for me ever… Overall Joan has changed my life and has inspired me to do many things.. I want to wish her a very Happy Birthday and just to say thanks for everything that she has done 🙂
That was awesome, Chelsea. Thanks for sharing!
This is my first time reading this…. and you know what? I’m going to say something for the FIRST time in public. I make a habit out of rolling my eyes each time my music or my voice is compared to Joan’s – only because people do it in a derogatory way a lot of the time. Joan is pretty damn unique, so everyone assumes I copy her, which doesn’t appeal to my desire to be independent and unique as well. I’ve been a musician since I was 2. I developed my style LONG before I’d ever even crawled out from under Hair Metal and discovered her.
That being said, when my sister threw a Joan Jett tape at me because, well, she didn’t like it, it marked the beginning of something amazing for me. There was this chick who sang more like I do and who was tough and not some blonde big tittied bombshell like all the other 80’s chick rockers.
I listened to her lyrics. Songs like “Frustrated” and “Love Like Mine” and many many others struck a chord and suddenly I didn’t feel like such an isolated angry adolescent.
Joan Jett is the reason I felt comfortable in being who I am. And if that resembles her in any way, I have a lot to feel thankful for and I have nothing to be rebelling against.
Thanks for that. I needed that.
You’re welcome, Zoe! I’m so glad I could provide a safe place for you to express that. THIS is what being a Jetthead is all about!
I hadn’t come back to “About” page in awhile…I was looking for something specific…and I’m glad I did or I would have missed your comments Chelsea and Zoe. Chelsea, I’m so glad that you discovered Joan. It is great to hear about young people discovering her because that means her music will live on and you have no idea how much that warms my heart and soul. Yeah…I’m a bit sentimental and corny…but I love Joan and her music and so of course I want her to be immortal, kind of like the Beatles or Elvis. And Zoe…I’m pretty sure I’ve checked out your site before because of JJElectric…but I’m going to have to go back again. Joan is pretty powerful isn’t she? Her music can be just fun…or it can speak volumes. JJE…thank you for this site…you are a very special lady yourself 🙂
First i want to say thank you for this page this is amazing. Truly .. I have been fan of Joan since i was a little girl and for the first time heard “Bad Reputation”, after that i got myself all of her albusm and have been a Jetthead ever since ( as i just found out it’s Jetthead ), i know every song by her. Later came the Runaways. I’m just so very glad that some people love her as much as i do. She is unique no one really can be compared to her. There’s so much in her that can’t even be put in to words. And i know that sounds like emo too but i really am just so damn greatful for her even excisting. Her music, she herself just everything about her… I feel good when i’m “hanging out with Joan” which means that her albums are all on repeat. And i know it is all emo kind of and i don’t know why am i writing this here but i just want to tell you that you are doing a great thing and good luck with that 🙂 This page is on my faves bar now. And good luck and i myself really hope that Joan will visit that page 😀 Because i think she would adore it and you deserve it xx
Awww, thanks! Don’t worry about being too emo. I am probably the most emo! This site is definitely emo-friendly.
Hello – I wanted to set something straight. The Joan Jett book is NOT a memoir, but rather a photo book of Joan Jett through her career, designed by Todd Oldham. Its going to be absolutely beautiful but definitely not a memoir, autobiography, or anything of the sort.
Thank you!
Thanks for the clarification! The Amazon description was kind of misleading. I’ll update the post and spread the word.
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I was born in the same year as Joan and and grew up very close to her in the Philly area, relatively speaking. It was way different back then when there was no internet, AM radio was king, FM radio was all Eagles, Led Zeppelin and lamo Foreigner-Boston AOR type crap. Information on bands that werent on the radio or in one of the few rock mags was very hard to come by. But, I could count on if Rolling Stone, Creem or a local FM DJ said a band sucked, they probably where going to be pretty good to me. This is the way the Runaways were back in ’77. They got mercilessly skewered by almost every rock critic / writer in every publication in the USA. Thats all I needed to hear ….. Im gonna run out now and buy the record ! When I heard them, I couldnt get enuff !! I wore the grooves of the album !!! I got mercilessly ripped by my ‘real musician’ friends for liking the ‘girl band who couldnt play’ instead of Zep or Aerosmith. It was very hard to be a male and like girly stuff in High School.
When the Runaways broke up, Joans time spent with the PiSt0Ls, Johhny Thunders Heartbreakers, Ramones, etc, really showed. The Blackhearts took this influence and with Ricky Byrds raw, Keef syle riffage on top of Joans Marshall amped Barre chordery, made some of the best rock ‘n roll ever !
My personal opinion is that Joan IS the greatest personification of Rock ‘n Roll ever. While there have been many iconic, epiphinal moments and stars in rock, no other rocker has endured with new stuff and stayed so true to their roots. The Who’s 500,000th “Last Concert Ever” shows are all lame. The ‘Stones are an orchestra of interchangeable musicians, shilling corporate stuff and just going through the motions, and the once mighty Aerosmith are just a Barry Manilow type Lounge Act you’d laff at in a casino. Joan is still out there, very accessible, loud and making stuff relevant to this generation. Even more importantly, she has selflessly devoted herself to many noble causes and not worried about making them Foto-0ps for herself ala Jolie/Madonna/Penn, etc.
At 51 years old, I am so glad that I can still see one of my childhood heros !
The same person I grooved to on 8-track as a carefree teenager riding around the Jersey Shore circa 1977 in a clapped out hippy van, drinking Ripple and having the time of my life, I can still see decades later as an old man who has seen most of his other friends and heros fade away or die.
How cool is that ?
Peace out !!
LL in Juno
This is a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing! (I don’t like Led Zeppelin either.) 🙂
I became a Joan Jett fan when I had my own all-female high-school rock band at 16. We covered “Cherry Bomb” and “I Love Rock & Roll” and did we ever have a blast. Joan was one of the first female rockers I was exposed to, and she gave me such inspiration and hope that I could do what she was doing. That I could play my guitar, yell and scream, and just have a good time. I am still rockin, even now, and have found other female rockers like her. But really, no one is like Joan Jett! She is the original! She is the best! The Queen of Noise! Rock on!
Love the site. Keep up the good work!!!
mhn
writer/director “Androgynous” video
Thanks! Welcome.
Okay, now that I broke my silence and commented on the film distribution fiasco, time for me to comment here, too. Thanks for making a home for us Jettheads. I’ve been a Jetthead for 35 YEARS! YOW!
In 1976, I was a 15-year-old girl in Winnipeg buying every issue of Creem and Circus and Crawdaddy as soon as it hit the stands. When I saw the photos of the Runaways there, I couldn’t stop looking at those photos for what seemed like hours. There was no support in those days for my budding lesbian desire. I didn’t even know what that was really. I just knew I couldn’t stop staring at them. Joan’s eyes in particular, and Sandy’s, too.
As if I weren’t already confused by those feelings at that point in history, imagine my screwed-up little heart and mind when I saw the abuse they were taking, the ridicule, for wanting to do what the guys were doing. None of it made any sense, as we all recognize now and as Joan has discussed repeatedly.
Fast-forward three years to the burgeoning punk scene, just as I was graduating from high school. Girl bands were playing renditions of “School Days” in front of sweaty crowds of kids pogoing and slam dancing. A friend of mine started a xeroxed fanzine called Jett Set (“When you’re a Jett/You’re a Jett all the way/ From yer first cigarette/To yer last dying day”). It actually wasn’t about JJ, just a little rag that documented the Winnipeg punk scene, but JJ was a perfect figurehead. It felt like JJ actually got a little bit of respect from the punks.
My love for JJ has blossomed into time-wasting obsession many times over the years. Every time it comes up like this again, I have no choice other than to embrace and enjoy it until it subsides and “normal” life can resume. The movie has kicked it into high gear again, and this time JJ has really kicked my ass–just bought myself a Fender bass amp, just a little practice amp, and have been picking up my vintage Japanese bass for the first time in 25 years! I call Joan “my defibrillator”! I know she likes to inspire girls, but I like to think it would make her happy to know she’s inspired a 49-year-old woman to pick up her axe!
Whassup with her tour schedule this summer including only ONE Canadian date, and it’s nowhere near me! Blackheart types, if you’re reading this: consider trying to book her in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia sometime between Spokane on July 16 and Chicago on July 23! What the heck is she going to do with that week? She says herself that she doesn’t like to take time off. She’ll be bored silly with no gigs to play! Bring her up here!
Welcome. Thanks for sharing!
BE STILL, my heart!!!! I just found out she’s coming to Vancouver August 27!!!!! Three months! How can I stand the wait???!!!??
I’ve already contacted you guys via email:
I’m chuffed that Joan is heading here (Australia) in Dec/Jan 2010-11; I just hope she does some small venues as well as the larger festivals; we have to fly interstate to go to one of the festivals, costing much $$$$; anyway; hopefully we will find out more dates soon? no web sites in Aust have any information at all? Not even the sites presenting the Festivals? I’ve seen JJ in 1982 (2 gigs) & 1995 (96?) 3 times; all great shows; nothing fancy; just the 4 piece, we saw Quatro in 96 as well, very ordinary in comparison; she back up singers, horns, it was more like a tribute show? Istill have my 82 tour T-shirt; would be a life long ambition to meet Joan!
Hi Dave! Sorry I haven’t had a chance to answer your last email. As soon as I hear more about the Australian dates I’ll let you know. In the meantime, your best bet is to keep contacting the venues and the ticketing outlets. Maybe you can ask them to email you when they make the announcements official.
yeah, I’ve tried every ticket outlet, & the actual Festival sites etc; no news; except they tell me “oh, people like us in the industry will find out before you when the dates will be announced…” really, talk about primadonas; I will wait with great anticipation for any emails, or msgs on this; the tix go onsale over here on Sept 9; so they’d want to hurry up & advise the general public pretty soon huh?
Any other Jettheads in Aust???
cheers / thanks
I am 13 and have been a jetthead for almost a year. I forget how i started listening to Joan but as soon as I did I couldn’t stop listening to her. And still can’t stop listening to her. All of my friends don’t get it, they dont think its real music they would rather listen to whoever it is that is popular now. Well i listen to joan,the clash, foreigner,Alice cooper, bon jovi etc…… Joan also inspired me to play the electric guitar which I hav been playing for 2 months now. And 2 of my friends like her music but not as much as me. whenever JOan comes to Boston I will probably be the only 13 year old in the audience,and i don’t care!
Hi Mikayla, welcome! I know exactly how you feel. I was 12 when I became a Jetthead, and my friends didn’t get it either. Most of them still don’t, but that’s OK. We’re not alone! And Joan has more fans your age than you think. 🙂
Today at school for whatever reason everyone was asking each other what they were going to be for Halloween ( a little early I know). My friend asked me what I was going to be and I said I might be Joan Jett. She thought I said Joe and jett. I must have said it 3 times till I finally had to right it down. And she still didn’t know what I was talking about. So my other friend had said “You know the singer from like the 80’s.” She didn’t. I know have a new favorite friend. haha 🙂
joan jett inspired me to get a guitar when i was 7!(although i became a drummer..weird) i heard about the runaways when i was about 10, not knowing joan jett was in it, and loved them, when i found out joan was in the runaways about a year later my life was complete. when i heard there was a runaways movie coming out i saw it as soon as i could and still watch it like everyday..the runaways helped me through alot with their music (me being a pissed off teenager) and joan and the blackhearts even more so . joan is my obsession.. music in general is my obsession, especially because the runaways went on tour with one of my other favorite bands RUSH!(even though they didnt get along) i love rock and roll got me into the rock music. even though my friends think im overly obsessed with old music, especially joan, i still still talk about her 24/7 and still love me some bowie, rush and the stones…even though my friends would rather listen to rap..ew
Hi Kaycee! I’m glad you found us!
im glad too! this site rocks! so many articles!
I am completely ashamed of myself and i cant let it go
I was told ‘you should watch this movie its called the runaways and its probably something you might like, its about Joan Jett and her early days’
My response to that ‘ oh yeah cool isnt she the one who sang that rock n roll song’
i hang my head in shame
as i saw the movie and fell absolutely in love –
i was born in 1980 why oh why have i not been a jetthead my entire life ????? how am i only knowing about her now
all that misspent youth i missed out on Joan? i cant get it back and there is nothing i can do about it. 😦
i cant get enough of her, i want more and it still isnt enough
i want to be her! can a 30 year old mum of 2 really go around with black hair and a joan jett hoodie???? !!!!
**big sigh** as i spend my day looking up anything Joan on Youtube as im Australian i will probably never get to see her live and i mean somewhere that isnt a massive festival!
thanks for listening
Welcome! It’s NEVER too late to tap into your inner Jetthead. Subscribe to this blog, and if I hear of Joan playing more dates in Australia you’ll know as soon as I do. 🙂
Hey,okay im like freaking 13 but a few months ago i realized that i really wanted to be a record producer but now i think i really really want to work for black heart records with all my heart but not as an intern as like a real producer to make music just like the runaways and like the sex pistols to come alive again! Since I only discovered Joan early this year im not an official Jett Head but i promise at the rate im going i soon will be i cant play an instrument but when learn how to play the guitar I will learn all her songs off by heart before i die XD
p.s: my email isn’t working, i know , i know.
You’re here, so you get to be an official Jetthead. Welcome!
oh how i wish i were a 70’s child the decade is horrible to live in -______-
This blog didn’t exist in the 70’s. 🙂
Hey!
For starters, I’m 16 and only been a “Jetthead” for 9 months now, but I still consider myself a Jett veteran (haha). 😛
Anyways, I first noticed this site over the summer (I think it was June) and ever since I’ve just adored it. This site has been really helpful when it comes to concert dates and what not. So, Danielle (I’m guessing that’s your name since it was on your awesome scrapbook thing), I just want to thank you for making such an interesting site for fellow Jettheads to express themselves. Where I’m from (Tyler, TX) there is no diversity in the music scene whatsoever. All I hear is the same old “screamo/hardcore/deathcore/metal” wannabe bands. So whenever I mention anything about the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s or Joan Jett, my friends look at me like I just said I was pregnant or something. Then, when I try to (calmly) explain who this monumentally inspirational woman is, they brush me off and forget I said anything… some friends, eh? Oh well; what can one do? 😛 Anyways, this site is a place where I can express my inner thoughts and not have to worry about some closed-minded degenerate saying, “Durrrrr, who’s Joanne Jett?” (Hey, genius, it’s JOAN: J-O-A-N. Joanne = a totally different name and a big no-no.) So, thanks again. 🙂
Another thing: is it at all possible to maybe, uhm, email Blackheart Records (Joan’s managment..whoever!) and see if they can get booked at a certain place? I’ve never tried that before because, obviously, I don’t even know if that’s possible. This may seem like an absurd request, but I have my reasoning. Joan and her band of Blackhearts have toured very close to where I live twice this year. But, each time they came around, guess who got to miss out? ME. And for some bullshit reasons too. The first time it happened was when Joan came to Rowlett, TX. I didn’t even know that town existed (it’s super small). Apparently, it’s right out of Dallas and not even an hour away. The concert was being held at some park and it was FREE for Pete’s sake! But, my aunt decided she’d rather go hang out with her lame desperate-housewife-bitter-divorced-martini-drinking “friends” instead of take me to a concert I’d be anticipating for 3 damn months. >:/ To put it bland, we don’t talk anymore. It’s not like we ever did to begin with, but now we seriously don’t communicate. At all.
The second time it happened was a few months back in September. Joan was playing at Diamond Jack’s casino in Bossier City, Louisiana. That’s in Shreveort (right?) and barely an hour away (once again). I spent weeks asking people for spare change (hey, poor people gotta do it somehow. I’d get a job if we had a car, you know…) and managed to scrounge around had $65. Tickets were only 50, so I believe I did a pretty good job of cash collecting. There are SOME nice people in this world. Kudos to the kids that donated to my charitable fund (totally kidding.) Anyhow, long-story-short, I’m not 21. So, because of my freakin’ AGE, they wouldn’t let me see my hero perform. 😥 Which doesn’t make sense, because my friend (who’s only 17) has been to Diamond Jack’s casino MANY times. Her family goes every other weekend to gamble and her parents told me they never bother for ID and she gets to watch her parents gamble. So, I was pissed to say the very least…
That’s why I’m asking if there is a way I could get them to book Joan in Texas sometime (soon! Not in like five years.) I’ve never seen her live before and it’s tearing me up inside. I’d do anything to attend one of her concerts up in the front with other die-hard Jettheads. And I really want to meet her… like, you don’t even know. So many questions.. So much to say. /: And maybe get her to sign my guitar? 🙂 That’d be my dream-come-true. I’d never want anything else. ❤
Sorry this was so long!
I just had a lot to say I guess.
Thank you, for the third time. This site kicks ass. 😀
– Erica.
Hi Erica! You’re welcome, and thank you! The Blackhearts are playing in El Paso in May, check http://joanjettbadrep.com/LiveDates for more info. I hope you can make that one!
she had them in the palm of her hand in the first chords of ‘Bad reputation’ – Joan was awesome at both the Brisbane Sunset Sounds show & the 400 capacity Annandale hotel in Sydney the following night, a great well behaved crowd; Joan was her usual smiling, engaging & charismatic self, the band all rocked, (& great to see Kenny Lugana there as keyboard player); in Brisbane it was very pleasing to see @ 12,000 people (not necessarily Blackhearts fans either) all singing, clapping & cheering along to most of Joan’s hits & lesser known tracks ( I got misty eyed during Crimson…). To top off a great week, I bumped into Thommy Price at Brisbane airport on the Friday morning, cool guy; had a chat, got a photo, autograph etc, but didn’t want to hassle him, he appreciated that!
Again Joan has proven you don’t need extravagant stage props, back up singers, costume changes, firebombs etc, to put on a good show, just great fucking, rockin music & attitude! Lets hope she comes back for a smaller venue tour soon??
Hey Dave, i managed to get 2nd front at the annandale and it was amazing. i had to film to make sure it was real and not just a dream!
absolute best night of my life, i was done after that- even saw arrested development in the street but hands down its all about Joan
Previously i had heard rumors that she wasnt that good at ‘The Falls’- but sounds like very unreliable sources or perhaps those kind of sources that go around wearing fluro for fun lol
i also heard she got down to her bikini at sunset sounds. only one 50 yr old woman could pull that off- i call her ‘the goddess’
so i dont suppose you or anyone knows what kind of shoes she was wearing – they were either all black cons or a shoe looking similar to them (DCs maybe?)
what ever she looked hot i even managed to get sweated on and she locked eyes with me – i had eye sex with Joan Jett
Dave and Superwillwood,
So nice to hear about Australia from you all, thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the videos that I caught of the shows. I had just seen Joan in Dacember here in Miami, FL. I can’t believe anyone gave a bad revue of a JJ show, I’ve seen about 80 of her live shows and she never dissapoints. I am looking foward to seeing The Blackhearts in Tampa in Febuary.
Superwillwood, Joan wears black high top canvas Pro Keds and she rocks the shit out of a small club! LOL on eye sex, that’s funny, I’ve heard the term eye lock but never eye sex.
hey friends!!! jus had to comment on here cos I love this site so much! came across it by accident in my incessant search for more Joan and signed up for ya newsletter/update thing and so glad that I did! I’ve loved JJett ever since I first heard The Runaways years ago…The Runaways/Queens of Noise/Waitin For The Night etc and jus couldn’t get enough of it. Just plain f**kin awesome! Waitin For The Night was the first album I heard and just loved the wicked rhythm guitar and bad ass vocals. At the time i loved 77punk (Pistols/Clash/Damned/Ramones) and hard rock (AC/DC with Bon)etc. and these girls jus blew me away. It was punk/rock n roll an total bad ass music I’d been waitin for my wholel life! I only listened to early Runaways later and loved Cherie too but once I’d heard Joan fronting WFTN I never looked back. I saw some interview of Joan in The Runaways some place in Tokyo when she was asked what instrument she played an she said ‘rhythm guitar’ an the Japanese interviewer got it wrong an Joan quickly put him in his place and I immediately thought…I love this woman!!! Yup, I’m a Jetthead and so glad to see that there are tons of others around also! Joan was always gonna be the front of that band and from the minute I heard the first ‘OW!’ I was hooked. Since then I been Lovin all of Joan’s Blackhearts stuff and am well and truly obssessed with the most talented/intelligent/gentle/bad ass/beautiful an Uber cool woman i’ve ever ‘known’! I saw her in Brighton UK in 2007 supporting Motorhead and Alice Cooper and she was ace! (Sorry, can’t compete with you Jeanne..80 shows! you be a lucky1!) Thing is the b**tards didn’t even put her name up on the venue board!!? Grrr… ANyways, ‘don’t let the b**tards grind ya down!’ Missed her show at the 100 Club which would have been awesome but sold out in about 5 minutes! Dah! Waitin for the night she’ll grace our shores once again..till then..i’ll keep drinkin the Captain Morgan..sorry..totally wasted andjus wanna raise a large glass to Danielle (is that right?…not sure who runs this site) for helpin like minded people keep in touch! BTW Dave, my sis lives in Sydney an the Annandale hotel is 5 mins drive from her place but she didn’t try an tout it!! Dah! Wot can ya expect from a Morrissey fan!??! haha! Luv her all the same!! She did buy me a limited addition Barbie Joan Jett doll for Xmas when she came over, with leather pants, converse, Gibson Melody Maker ..the lot! Wot can I say?!! Love yaz all, xxxx PS Check out Lemmy The Movie..just out over here…well worth 10 squids of anyone’s dough!! MMMMMpwah!!! xxx
Great Web Site… Do you know if Joan has seen it?….. I am from Austrlalia and have missed Joans Shows in 2011.. i pray that she will come back to us soon and not in another 15 years and do a bigger venue cause she fill it no worries…. She soo beautiful and talented and everything that i would want my girls to be….. I would love to meet her one day….. cant stop posting you tubes videos on my facebook page lol… Again thanx for such a great site
hey friends!!! jus had to comment on here cos I love this site so much! came across it by accident in my incessant search for more Joan and signed up for ya newsletter/update thing and so glad that I did! I’ve loved JJett ever since I first heard The Runaways years ago…The Runaways/Queens of Noise/Waitin For The Night etc and jus couldn’t get enough of it. Just plain f**kin awesome! Waitin For The Night was the first album I heard and just loved the wicked rhythm guitar and bad ass vocals. At the time i loved 77punk (Pistols/Clash/Damned/Ramones) and hard rock (AC/DC with Bon)etc. and these girls jus blew me away. It was punk/rock n roll an total bad ass music I’d been waitin for my wholel life! I only listened to early Runaways later and loved Cherie too but once I’d heard Joan fronting WFTN I never looked back. I saw some interview of Joan in The Runaways some place in Tokyo when she was asked what instrument she played an she said ‘rhythm guitar’ an the Japanese interviewer got it wrong an Joan quickly put him in his place and I immediately thought…I love this woman!!! Yup, I’m a Jetthead and so glad to see that there are tons of others around also! Joan was always gonna be the front of that band and from the minute I heard the first ‘OW!’ I was hooked. Since then I been Lovin all of Joan’s Blackhearts stuff and am well and truly obssessed with the most talented/intelligent/gentle/bad ass/beautiful an Uber cool woman i’ve ever ‘known’! I saw her in Brighton UK in 2007 supporting Motorhead and Alice Cooper and she was ace! (Sorry, can’t compete with you Jeanne..80 shows! you be a lucky1!) Thing is the b**tards didn’t even put her name up on the venue board!!? Grrr… ANyways, ‘don’t let the b**tards grind ya down!’ Missed her show at the 100 Club which would have been awesome but sold out in about 5 minutes! Dah! Waitin for the night she’ll grace our shores once again..till then..i’ll keep drinkin the Captain Morgan..sorry..totally wasted andjus wanna raise a large glass to Danielle (is that right?…not sure who runs this site) for helpin like minded people keep in touch! BTW Dave, my sis lives in Sydney an the Annandale hotel is 5 mins drive from her place but she didn’t try an tout it!! Dah! Wot can ya expect from a Morrissey fan!??! haha! Luv her all the same!! She did buy me a limited addition Barbie Joan Jett doll for Xmas when she came over, with leather pants, converse, Gibson Melody Maker ..the lot! Wot can I say?!! Love yaz all, xxxx PS Check out Lemmy The Movie..just out over here…well worth 10 squids of anyone’s dough!! MMMMMpwah!!! xxx
+1
did anyone see JJ on Oprah? we have to wait a few months to see it here in Australia; (I can’t see how Salt n Peppa made it onto a rock godess special??)
can anyone give a review of what the show (especially Joan) was like?
Hi Dave! Check out the main page, 2nd post down for the Oprah recap. 🙂
Hi!
ok so my friend and i have spent the last 3 hours at a party with loads of other friends just sitting there talking all things Joan and kind of ignoring everyone else….. we love her and everything about her …words cannot express this…. we were wondering if anyone knows how much she weighs? silly question right? well i know it is but we still wonder if anyone knows the answer
thanks
according to this http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/22500000/Joan-Jett-s-Questionaire-Sheet-joan-jett-22535865-400-537.jpg between 118 ibs and 114 ( if it’s not fake)
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Hi! I’m from Spain. You know about a kinf of letter to write my name like the ‘Joan Jett & the Blackheart’s’ simbol?? Where I can find it? Maybe I’m crazy! 😀 Thanks
Not sure. Try googling ‘joan jett font’ and see what comes up.
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Hey! I’m a Norwegian Jetthead, who discovered Joan through the game Guitar Hero Aerosmith. I heard the song “I Hate Myself For Loving You” when I was about 11, and I fell in love with it. Many years passed since, and I almost forgotten who had made the song, and it all was gone from my head, and I didn’t know who she really was, until last year, when a friend buyed me “The Runaways” movie for my birthday. I have now watched it for about nine times or so! And I love it! First I thought that it sucked, ’cause I don’t like Kristen’s previous work with the Twilight movies, but I changed my mind when I saw her as Joan. She plays the role quite good, and I got inspired. If I haven’t got this DVD, maybe I wouldn’t know about the greatest female rocker off all time. So I feel very lucky to have discovered her good work! Joan truly is the QUEEN of Rock, and if I’ll fight anybody who are protesting! ( I’m just kidding! What I’m trying to say, is that she rules!) So that’s when I became a diehard Joan Jett and the Blackhearts fan! I hope she comes to Norway this year as well, since she’s been here the last year, and the year before that. Personally, my favorite songs are “Bad Reputation”, “Androgynous”, “I Hate Myself For Loving You”, and “Good Music”.
The first two songs have ment a lot to me, especially in the last year, ’cause I was going through a tough time, “finding myself” and “my own way”. I also lost one of my best friends, because of a little “dilemma”. But it’s way more better now, thanks to Joan and her music!
When I’m sad, I connect my iPod to the stereo, and from the very start of the songs, all sadness dissappears within one second or so! It makes me feel so happy, and it’s like Joan enters the room and tells me: “Don’t listen to them, because you are who you are, and that’s more than good enough!” I love those who can say like: “Hey, calm down! I do as I please, and if that’s bothering you, you should keep off!” To say things directly are much more better than talk behind peoples back.
I hope Joan will keep up her good work in many years forward, in true Joan Jett style! We love you Joan! ❤
"I need good music–Good good music
It always feels so good to hear good music
I know that I would die without good music!"
JJ Always.
Awesome blog! I’m one of the newer Jettheads (4 years now … almost 5) I got one of the greatest experiences to meet her 2 years ago for my 16th birthday! It was amazing … I posted about it here: http://edgymisfit.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/december-18th-2010-1-year-today/
Anyway, I get what you mean of trying to get my friends enthusiastic about it … the thing that kills me is that a lot of people don’t know who she is by name … if I say one of there songs … some kind-of recognize it, which sucks! 😛 but either or I think I’ll always be a Jetthead (& now that I just got her book the other day by Todd Oldham) 😛
Def following your blog.
xo – Brittany
Eu ouvi a Joan Jett não faz muito tempo pela primeira vez , moro no Brasil e estou totalmente adorando ela conhecendo sua historia de vida está me fascinando estou muito feliz de dizer que hoje eu sou uma Jetthead adorei seu sait quando puder nos brinca com seu conhecimento sobre Joa Jett …beijos
Can’t explain my love for Joan Jett. I have been a Jetthead since 1984. I feel connected to her. It must come from either her style or just her presence. Whatever it is, I love her and her music. Maybe I would feel different if I met her …. what fame does to people. I respect hard workers. She, I believe, is a very hard worker and can overcome the pitfalls of fame. I hope she has another big, big hit. Keep on rockin’ Joan Jett!
Thanks so much for your site and for the tweets we’ve been sharing JJElektric. I’ve been a Joan Jett fan for years since the early 80s in high school and then in college. It is great to be able to “talk Joan” with people that understand. I have friends that like her music and like her but they are not Jettheads, they don’t get it totally like we do. I listen to her on my iPod at work all day long and listen every night. I’ve always loved her music and who she is and what she represents, she has never changed for anyone. She has pushed forward with courage and remarkable inner strength while enduring unbelievable push back, verbal and yes sometime physical abuse from idiots. She has been called everything you can negatively call a woman and spit on – just because she wanted to play an electric guitar and be in a band. I can’t imagine the emotions she must have felt during those times; anger, threatened, fear, terror…. but she never backed down, kept singing and playing her guitar. I have such RESPECT for this woman and it continues to grow more and more every day. I wish I could’ve been there for her during those times and protected her. Being able to escape with Joan and her music have helped me recently through the roughest year of my life, my partner of 20+ years passed away in January of this year. I can’t think of the words that would explain how much I would love to be able to say Thank You Joan to her. I know she hears stories like this all the time and I have read and heard her say how much the stories mean to her, I just wish she knew how much she means to me. I absolutely love listening to Joan talk about her music, her life, issues – I always learn something from her or she makes me think about things more, if a different light. I will always be a Jetthead and will always respect and love this woman.
Thanks!
Well now children let your uncle tell you a Jett story…
I saw something I’ll never forget in Greeley Colorado about 30 years ago. Drove with friends in an old car over from college to see what it was all about. Remember now kids, back in those days there was no Internet; you bought record ALBUMS at a dingy store in campustown, based on what you read in the one ragged copy of Rolling Stone in your friend’s apartment. Most towns had just a few TV channels, and the only Rock show on TV was on at midnight on Saturdays.
All you knew was there was this Jett girl with a sort of nice raspy voice singing this catchy Rock song on the FM radio. Mind you kids, back then (except in Japan) most people had never even heard of the Runaways or Suzi Quatro. And girls just didn’t do hard Rock in rural America.
We walked in and saw this beautiful dark-haired chic in a tight bodysuit, black hair, high-top sneakers, with wrists wrapped up so she could thrash the guitar. It was warm inside, and after a blasting a few rocking songs she had sweat flying off her hair as she jumped around the stage. We were stunned. Talked about it for days.
To give you an idea how green they still were on touring around country, in an interview on the local radio station, I remember one of the (young, at that time) Blackhearts saying Joan and the band were surprised that Greeley was flat land – they thought Colorado was all mountains!
I’d have never believed that 30 years later Joan would still be going strong. She’s obviously gone through a few image changes. Not quite sure if they were real or part of the act, but who cares. She seems to have gone back to the original sultry beautiful model look recently, which is nicer than …. well, you know.
The albums and CDs were often hit or miss, but the live shows seemed to be the real attraction. She played for the soldiers too.
In interviews she seems nice. It’s important to be nice.
Besides the music, I’m glad that she’s been an inspiration to young women. She showed that you can make it in whatever career you choose with hard work an perseverance.