Unanswered questions cloud the music industry, and we keep searching for answers. This time, the question is: Can a song change a band’s fate and save them from separation? We know it does in some cases, like when U2’s ‘One’ helped them recover from the tension in the band and saved their future. But there are instances where we can never receive the answer.
Sometimes, a band does not get the chance to record a piece while another one does and succeeds wildly, thanks to it. Then, the first band breaks up for some reason, and one gets curious about whether the lost chance with the song is the reason, only to remain with no answers. The only thing we know for sure is someone’s loss is another’s gain.
Years ago, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released their single ‘I Love Rock n’ Roll,’ which was a cover version of the original by Arrows. The song became their highest-charting song and remained number one on Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. Thus, the band’s way to success opened in 1981. But how did the song end up in their hands?
Joan Jett went on an England tour with her first band, an all-female group, The Runaways, in 1976. She heard the song playing on a TV show and fell in love with it, prompting her to buy a copy and take it to the US. At the time, her band was aspiring and well-loved in Japan, but they didn’t achieve remarkable success in the US. So, recording this song as a band could have contributed to their career; however, that contribution never came.
For some reason, the band didn’t record the song. It remained unrecorded for a while as the band members tried to hold the band together and pursue their careers in vain. They couldn’t get along and disagreed on several points, like their music style, resulting in cracks in their integrity. Thus, the band dissolved one by one.
Later, Joan wanted to put the song to good use by recording it with Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones and Paul Cook, but it was turned down several times. Still, she did not give up. She tried her chance one more time by playing with her new band, the Blackhearts, and achieved the success she wanted. Following that success, she made press appearances in which she talked about the song’s story. One of them was her 1982 interview taken from the Mike Squier Archives.
The musician recalled the song’s journey as follows:
“I found ‘I Love Rock N’ Roll’ in 1976, the first time the Runaways toured England. They had a TV show on; it was on like The Monkees or something. It was like an equivalent to that, it seemed. They were doing this song called ‘I Love Rock N’ Roll,’ and I thought, ‘That’s a great song!’ I went out and bought it in one of the record stores while I was in England and brought it back to America with me. We (The Runaways) tried to do it a couple of times. We never got it rehearsed, or there was always a reason why we didn’t do it. Never recorded it, and I did it with Steve Jones and Paul Cook, which it was played for American record companies, in which they turned it down. Then, we did it with the Blackhearts.”
The Runaways could have had the success ‘I Love Rock n’ Roll’ brought to the Blackhearts, but maybe they were not supposed to, as we know that the band had more issues than just a hit song. Joan Jett disagreed with the other members about style choices; they had disputes regarding money with the manager Kim Fowley, and members left the band one by one. So, there is a chance that the song could not save them.
On the other hand, the fact that Joan Jett and the Blackhearts remained active to this day shows that they were meant to be together, and their hit song was a chance for them to start their journey. Things might have developed differently in another universe, but in this one, the Blackhearts succeeded in their careers thanks to Joan Jett’s determination.
