Joan Jett | |
|---|---|
 Jett in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joan Marie Larkin |
| Born | (1958-09-22)September 22, 1958 (age 66) Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
| Member of | Joan Jett and the Blackhearts |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | joanjett |
| Signature | |
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Joan Jett (bornJoan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958)[1] is an American rock singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the "Godmother of Punk" and the "Queen ofRock 'n' Roll", she is regarded as arock icon and an influential figure inpopular rock music.
Jett co-founded and performed withthe Runaways from 1975 to 1979, with whom she releasedfour albums. After their dissolution, she formed theindependent record labelBlackheart Records with producerKenny Laguna. She foundedJoan Jett and the Blackhearts as her backup band in 1979; during this time, she released her solodebut album. With the Blackhearts, Jett has releasedtwelve albums, three of which have been certifiedplatinum orgold.[2][3][4] Additionally, eleven of their singles have appeared on theBillboard Hot 100.[5]
Jett was included onRolling Stone's 2003 and 2023 lists of the greatest guitarists of all time. In 2015, she and the Blackhearts were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame. Outside of music, she headlined the filmLight of Day in 1987 and has appeared inseveral television series. She is also recognized for heractivism.
Joan Marie Larkin was born on September 22, 1958,[1] atLankenau Hospital inWynnewood, Pennsylvania, a suburb ofPhiladelphia, to James and Dorothy Larkin.[6] She is the oldest of three children. Her father was an insurance salesman and her mother was a secretary.[1] Her family wasProtestant, attending church and Sunday school, but were not strict in their religious beliefs.[7]
In 1967, Jett's family moved toRockville, Maryland, where she attended Randolph Junior High School andWheaton High School.[8] She got her first guitar at the age of 13.[9] She took some guitar lessons, but soon quit because the instructor kept trying to teach herfolk songs.[10] Her family then moved toWest Covina, California, inLos Angeles County, providing Jett with the opportunity to pursue her musical interests. Shortly after the move, her parents divorced and she changed her name to Joan Jett, because she thought it had more of a rock star sound than her birth name. She has admitted in recent years that "Jett" was not actually her mother's maiden name, even though that is what she used to tell people.[11] In Los Angeles, Jett's favorite night spot wasRodney Bingenheimer's English Disco,[12] a venue that provided theglam rock style she loved.[13]
At age 16, Jett became a founding member ofthe Runaways with drummerSandy West. After the brief tenure ofMicki Steele, who sang and played bass,Jackie Fox,Lita Ford, andCherie Currie soon joined to complete the band which created the classic lineup. While Currie initially fronted the band, Jett shared some lead vocals, played rhythm guitar, and wrote or co-wrote some of the band's material along with Ford, West, and Currie. This lineup recorded three albums.
The band toured around the world and became an opening act forCheap Trick,Ramones,Van Halen, andTom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They found success abroad, especially in Japan. While the Runaways were popular in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, and South America, they could not garner the same level of success in the United States.[13][14] After Currie left the band, the band released two more albums with Jett handling the lead vocals:Waitin' for the Night andAnd Now... The Runaways. While touring England with the Runaways in 1976, Jett first heard the song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" when she saw Arrows perform it on their weekly UK television seriesArrows.[15] Altogether, they produced five albums from 1975 until they disbanded in the spring of 1979.[16]
In 1979, she returned to Los Angeles, where she began fulfilling an obligation of the Runaways to complete a film that was loosely based on the band's career entitledWe're All Crazee Now! Three actresses stood in for the departed band members, includingRainbeaux Smith, who was also a rock drummer.[17] The plug was pulled on the project halfway through shooting after Jett fell ill, but in 1984, after she became famous, producers looked for a way to use the footage from the incomplete film.[17] Parts of the original footage of Jett were eventually used in another project, an underground film calledDu-beat-eo, which was produced by Alan Sacks, but not commercially released.[17]
In 1979, Jett was in England pursuing a solo career. She recorded three songs there with theSex Pistols'Paul Cook andSteve Jones, one of which was an early version ofArrows' "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". This version appears on the 1993 compilation albumFlashback.[18] While working onWe're All Crazee Now!, Jett met songwriter and producerKenny Laguna, who was hired by her manager Toby Mamis to help Jett with writing sometracks for the film.[17] They became friends and decided to work together and Jett relocated toLong Beach, New York, where Laguna was based.
Soon after, Jett produced theGerms' only album,(GI).[13] Jett produced several bands prior to releasing her debut, and her label Blackheart Records released recordings from varied artists such asthrash metal bandMetal Church andrapperBig Daddy Kane.
Jett and Laguna enteredthe Who'sRamport Studios with the latter at the helm, and Jett's self-titled solo debut was released byAriola Records in Europe on May 17, 1980. In the US, after the album was rejected by 23 major labels,[19] Jett and Laguna released it independently on their newBlackheart Records label, which they started with Laguna's daughter's college savings. Laguna remembers, "We couldn't think of anything else to do but print up records ourselves."[17] With Laguna's assistance, Jett formedthe Blackhearts. It has undergone many lineup changes since its inception, with Jett and Laguna being its only consistent members.
Jett's first appearance on film is in the 1981 live concert filmUrgh! A Music War, performing "Bad Reputation" with the Blackhearts atthe Ritz in New York City. A spring 1981 concert atthe Palladium in New York City proved to be a turning point. Described by music journalists as a career-defining performance by Jett, it helped solidify a strong New York City following for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.[20] After a year of touring and recording, the Blackhearts recorded a new album entitledI Love Rock 'n Roll for the label. Ambel was replaced by local guitaristRicky Byrd during the recording. Byrd recalled in an interview with Guitarhoo!, "One day I went to a studio to jam around a bit with Jett and everything clicked".[21][22] The first single from the album was the title track, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which in the first half of 1982 was number one on theBillboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in a row.[23] It isBillboard's No. 56 song of all time[24] and has also been inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 2016.[25]
Jett releasedAlbum (1983) andGlorious Results of a Misspent Youth (1984). A string ofTop 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours withthe Police,Queen, andAerosmith, among others. She was among the first English-speaking rock acts to appear inPanama and theDominican Republic.[26] According to Jett and Laguna, a riot occurred during their visit to Panama andManuel Noriega requested Jett spend the night with him at the Presidential Palace.[27][28]
Jett next beat out a number of contenders to star in the movieLight of Day (1987) alongsideMichael J. Fox as siblings who perform in a rock band. It was originally written by directorPaul Schrader withBruce Springsteen in mind; although Springsteen declined the role, he wrote the song "Light of Day" for the film.[29][30] While the film received mixed reviews, Jett's performance was critically acclaimed.[31]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times believed she matched her acting to co-starGena Rowlands, calling it "the most surprisingly good performance."[32]Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times wrote: "Miss Jett is good too, snapping her way angrily through confrontational scenes and musical ones alike, and taking a sentimental turn just when the story does."[33]
The next year, her next album,Up Your Alley (1988), went multi-platinum. This album contains the single "I Hate Myself for Loving You", which peaked at No. 8 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart,[34] and had been used as the theme song for Sunday Night Football NFL games in America (with altered lyrics, by two singers) during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Jett co-wrote the song "House of Fire", which appeared onAlice Cooper's 1989 albumTrash.
Jett's next album wasThe Hit List, which was an album consisting of cover songs. In 1990, the Blackhearts had a song onDays of Thunder's soundtrack, "Long Live the Night", written by Jett with Randy Cantor andMichael Caruso. Her 1991 release,Notorious, which featuredthe Replacements'Paul Westerberg and formerBilly Idol bass player Phil Feit, was the last withSony/CBS, as Jett switched toWarner Bros. In 1993, Jett and Laguna releasedFlashback, a compilation of various songs on their ownBlackheart Records. In 1994, the Blackhearts released the well-receivedPure and Simple, which featured tracks written withBabes in Toyland'sKat Bjelland,L7'sDonita Sparks andBikini Kill'sKathleen Hanna.
Jett returned to producing for the bandCircus Lupus in 1992 and again, in 1994, forBikini Kill. This recording was theNew Radio +2 vinyl 7-inch EP for which she also played and sang back-up vocals. A CD single of "Let's Do It" featuring Jett and Westerberg was also released during this time, and appeared in the song credits for the movieTank Girl.
In 1997, Jett was featured on theWe Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute album. She performed a cover of theJohnny O'Keefe song "Wild One" (or "Real Wild Child"). Jett is a guest artist onMarky Ramone and the Intruders' 1999 albumThe Answer to Your Problems? on the track "Don't Blame Me". She is a guest vocalist onPeaches' albumImpeach My Bush on the tracks "Boys Wanna Be Her" and "You Love It".
In the 1990s she appeared in theindependent filmsThe Sweet Life andBoogie Boy. In 1992, she was a guest star in"Free Fall", a first-season episode of TV'sHighlander: The Series.[35] In 1997, she appeared on the sitcomEllen,[36] in the episode "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah", performing the title song.
In 2000, Jett appeared in the Broadway production ofThe Rocky Horror Show in the role of Columbia. That same year, Jett appeared onWalker, Texas Ranger as an ex-CIA agent turned assassin hired to kill Walker and Alex. In 2002, Jett appeared in the filmBy Hook or by Crook in the role of News Interviewee. From 2000 to 2003, Jett hosted a showcase of new film and video shorts,Independent Eye,[37] forMaryland Public Television.
In 2004, Jett and Laguna produced the albumNo Apologies by the pop punk bandthe Eyeliners, after signing them. Jett also guested on the track "Destroy" and made a cameo appearance in its music video. Also in 2004, Jett narrated a short film,Godly Boyish, about two teenagers who share suicidal fantasies.
In 2005, Jett and Laguna signed punk rockers the Vacancies and produced their second album,A Beat Missing or a Silence Added (reaching the top 20 in CMJ Music Charts), and their third album in 2007,Tantrum. That same year, she was recruited bySteven Van Zandt to host her own radio show on Van Zandt'sUnderground Garage radio channel onSirius Satellite Radio. She hosted a four-hour show titledJoan Jett's Radio Revolution, broadcast every Saturday and Sunday.[38] The program moved from Sirius 25 (Underground Garage)[39] to Sirius 28 shortly before being canceled in June 2008.[40][41] Also in 2005, Jett and Laguna celebrated the 25th anniversary of Blackheart Records with a sellout show atManhattan's Webster Hall.[42]
In June 2006, Jett released her albumSinner, on Blackheart Records. To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006Warped Tour and on a fall 2006 tour withEagles of Death Metal. Various other bands such as Antigone Rising,Valient Thorr, the Vacancies, Throw Rag and Riverboat Gamblers were to have joined the tour for a handful of dates each. Jett sang a duet with Chase Noles on "Tearstained Letters", a song onthe Heart Attacks' 2006 album,Hellbound and Heartless.
In 2008, Jett made a cameo appearance inDarren Lynn Bousman's rock opera/fileRepo! The Genetic Opera as the guitarist in Shilo's room during the piece "Seventeen".[43] Also in 2008, she appeared in theLaw & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Reunion" as a rock-and-roll talk show host who is murdered.
Jett was an executive producer for the filmThe Runaways, which chronicled the Runaways' career. It was written and directed byFloria Sigismondi, who has directed videos forMarilyn Manson,the White Stripes andDavid Bowie. Production of the movie began filming aroundTwilight'sKristen Stewart's filming schedule, (i.e. of the sequelsNew Moon andEclipse). Stewart played Jett in the film. In order to prepare for the role, Stewart met Jett around January 2009. In an interview, Stewart revealed that she hoped to be able to sing some songs in the film.[44] The film explores the relationship between Jett and Runaways' lead singer,Cherie Currie, played byDakota Fanning, and premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2010. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts appeared at the2010 Sundance Film Festival, at Harry-O's, to promote the film.
Jett, along with the Blackhearts, released the albumUnvarnished on September 30, 2013. The album reachedBillboard's Top 50.[45] It included songs dealing with the death of her parents and other people.[46][47] Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were inducted in theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.[48]
Jett starred in and was the executive producer of the filmUndateable John, which was released in 2014.[49][50] In April 2014, Jett fronted the remaining members ofNirvana for a performance of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She joined the band again later that night for its surprise concert atSaint Vitus. Jett played Betsy Neal in the television filmBig Driver. The film, based onStephen King'snovella of the same name, premiered onLifetime on October 18, 2014. Jett provided the voice for the character Sunshine Justice in an episode ofSteven Universe.[51]
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts releasedChangeup on March 25, 2022, the first acoustic album ever recorded by the band, featuring "Bad Reputation" and "Crimson and Clover".[52] On June 2, 2023, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released the 6 song EP,Mindsets. The EP the band's first release of new material in ten years.[53] Jett played a post pandemic welcome back concert in honor of first responders in the summer of 2022 at the Nassau CountyHarry Chapin Lakeside Theatre hosted by Nassau County ExecutiveBruce Blakeman that set a record attendance of 27,000 concert attendees.[citation needed]
On May 14, 2021, it was announced that to celebrate the 40th anniversaries of Jett's first two albums,Bad Reputation andI Love Rock & Roll, Z2 Comics was releasing twographic novels titledJoan Jett and the Blackhearts - 40x40: Bad Reputation/I Love Rock 'n' Roll that will bring Jett's "songs to life as 20 vivid stories" by female writers and artists in the comic book industry. The books were released in November 2021.[54]
Jett has long supported animal rights activism and organizations such asPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).[55] For Valentine's Day 2022, PETA created a (Black)Heart-Shaped Pizza as a limited-time collaboration with a Los Angeles pizza shop, PIZZANISTA![56]
Jett worked with members of the punk rock bandthe Gits, whose lead singer and lyricist,Mia Zapata, had been raped and murdered in 1993.[13] The results of their collaboration was a live album,Evil Stig and a single, "Bob", whose earnings were contributed to the investigation of Zapata's murder. To this end, the band and Jett appeared on the television showAmerica's Most Wanted, appealing to the public for information. The case was solved in 2004, when Zapata's murderer, Jesus Mezquia, was brought to trial and convicted.
At an October 20019/11 benefit inRed Bank, New Jersey,[57] Jett and Springsteen appeared together on stage for the first time and played "Light of Day".
Jett is a sports fan and has remained actively involved in the sports world. "Bad Reputation" was used byUltimate Fighting Championship's Women's Bantamweight ChampionRonda Rousey as her walkout song at the pay-per-view eventUFC 157 and is her current theme music inWWE. In April 2019, Jett performed "Bad Reputation" at WWE'sWrestleMania 35 as Rousey was making her entrance.[58]
Jett's cover of "Love Is All Around" (the theme song ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show) was used by theNCAA to promote the Women's Final Four, as well as the song "Unfinished Business", which was never commercially released. "Love Is All Around" gained substantial radio play and became the number one requested song without a supporting album. Jett supplied theme songs for theESPNX Games premiere and has contributed music to all their games since. AtCal Ripken Jr.'s request she sang the U.S. national anthem at theBaltimore Orioles game in which he tied[59]Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played. She also sang the national anthem at the final game played at Memorial Stadium. From 2006 to 2015, the melody for her song "I Hate Myself for Loving You" was used as the theme music forNBC Sunday Night Football with re-worked lyrics and retitled "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night". Beginning with the 2019 season, Jett performs the song with Carrie Underwood in the opener of Sunday Night Football games.[60]
Though Jett supportedHoward Dean in the2004 election because of his opposition to theIraq War,[61][62] she has been a consistent supporter of theUnited States Armed Forces throughout her career and has toured for theUnited Service Organizations for over 20 years, and even performed at theUnited States Military Academy.[63] She often explains that while she doesn't like war, she loves the military.[64]
In June 2016, as a response to thePulse nightclub shooting which left 49 dead, Jett was the first to signBillboard magazine's Open Letter on Gun Violence demanding that Congress enactgun control legislation, specificallyuniversal background checks. Jett was followed byLady Gaga and nearly 200 other musicians and music industry executives in their petition.[65]
In 2024, Jett contributed guitar to a re-release ofMark Knopfler's "Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero" in aid of theTeenage Cancer Trust.[66]
In 2008, Gibson released the "Joan Jett Signature Melody Maker". It differs from Jett's model by having a single burstbucker 3 humbucking pickup, an ebony fretboard and a double-cutaway body in white with a black vinyl pickguard. It also features a kill switch in place of a pickup selector.[67] It retails for $839.[67] There is a "Blackheart" version of this guitar introduced in 2010. All specs are the same, but it is finished in black, with red and pearl heart inlays.[68]
On November 19, 2009, Mattel released a Joan JettBarbie doll. Her name and likeness were used with her permission.[69]
In June 2019, Gibson announced and released a third signature guitar for Jett, which is a wine-colored ES-339. The guitar was released after two years of research and development with Jett.[70][71]
Jett has amezzo-soprano vocal range.[72] Her signature guitar is a whiteGibson Melody Maker, which she has played on all her hits since 1977. Jett bought her first Melody Maker fromEric Carmen, following the breakup of theRaspberries.[73] In regard to her white Melody Maker, the singer once stated: "In The Runaways I was using ablond Les Paul. It's beautiful, and I still have it, but it's heavy as shit. I jump and run around a lot onstage, and it was really getting to my shoulder, so I was looking for a lighter guitar. I heard from one of ourroad crew thatEric Carmen from theRaspberries was selling a Melody Maker, so I ended up buying it. Now, this is the guitar that he played on "Go All the Way" and all those [Raspberries] hits. And then I played it on "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Want to Touch Me", "Bad Reputation" ...all those early records. Then I took it off the road because I got nervous that someone was gonna steal it or break it. It's so beautiful. It's white, has no stickers on it, and there are cracks in the paint and yellowing from age or club cigarettes. It's an unbelievable-looking guitar. I have it in a closet and I take it out occasionally to record. But I don't even need to use it to record anymore, because I have a guitar that sounds pretty much like it. I'm actually kind of afraid to bring out the original. It's got a great heritage. It's a guitar full of hits."[74][75]
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The press touted Jett as the "Godmother ofPunk"[76] and the "OriginalRiot Grrrl". Jett has also been described as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll.[77][78][79][80][81] TheRiot Grrrl movement started in the early 1990s, and many of its participants credited Jett as a role model and inspiration.
In 1983, musical satirist"Weird Al" Yankovic released a parody of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" entitled "I Love Rocky Road", changing the singer's passion for rock music with that forice cream. In 1984 the comic stripBloom County included a character namedTess Turbo, with a backing band called the Blackheads.[82] Jett enjoyed the joking sendup, saying "I actually bought the original artwork of that, and it's hanging in my office... I was honored he chose me to satirize."[83] Her name appears in the lyrics of theLe Tigre song "Hot Topic", released in 1999.[84] The 1999 seriesFreaks and Geeks used the song "Bad Reputation" as the opening theme.[85] In 2019 British bloggerLadBaby released a parody of "I love Rock 'n' Roll", changing the singer's passion for rock music with that for sausage rolls. "I love Sausage Rolls" became the Christmas No.1 in the UK.[86]
In 2010,The Runaways, a movie about her previous band, was released, starringKristen Stewart as Jett andDakota Fanning as Currie.[13][87] Jett was later the subject of a documentary,Bad Reputation, which was released in theaters and streaming on September 28, 2018.[88]
Gibson manufactured a signature model of herMelody Maker, a white double cutaway with a zebra humbucker and "kill" toggle switch.[89]
Jett's honors include being inducted in theLong Island Music Hall of Fame (Class of 2006),[90] appearing onRolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of all-time list in 2003 and 2023,[91][92] and being named West Hollywood's Rock Legend in 2013.[93] She also received the Nanci Alexander Activist Award for her work on behalf of animal welfare.[94] In April 2014, Jett was the first woman to win the Golden God Award.[95] Former bandmatesCherie Currie andLita Ford supported her. On April 24, 2014,Alternative Press magazine held its first-everAlternative Press Music Awards, and Jett received the AP Icon Award.[96] In 2015, she and the Blackhearts were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[48]
Jett has been a vegetarian since the late 1980s and supports animal rights.[97][98]
For years Jett refused to either confirm or deny rumors that she is lesbian orbisexual. In a 1994 interview withOut magazine she said, "I'm not saying no, I'm not saying yes, I'm saying believe what you want. Assume away—go ahead."[99] In 2006, she responded to an interviewer who had asked her when she had "come out" as a lesbian by saying, "I never made any kind of statement about my personal life on any level. I never made any proclamations. So I don't know where people are getting that from."[100]
In 2016, former Runaways guitaristLita Ford revealed in her memoir that she temporarily quit the band because the other members were "all gay," saying "First I found out thatSandy, the one I had bonded with the most, was a lesbian. Then I found out thatCherie was messing around with Joan. I was so freaked out that I quit the band. When I found out that the girls were all gay in the band, I wasn't sure how to take it. I didn't know what it was."[101]
In a 2018 interview withthe New York Times, when asked about how an LGBT film festival did not want to show her documentary because she was not "out", Jett said: "They don't want the movie there because I don't declare? [Holding up her necklace] What the [expletive] is that? Twolabryses, or axes, crossing each other, inside of two women's symbols crossing each other. It's not been off since I got it. And I wear this one every day. [She turns around, lifts her shirt and reveals a tattoo with similar female symbols on her lower back.] I don't know how much more you can declare."[102]
Jett lives inLong Beach, New York, and has been a New York resident since the late 1970s.[103][104] She is an avidNew York Liberty andBaltimore Orioles fan.[105][106]
In July 2015, attorneyJackie Fuchs (formerly Jackie Fox ofthe Runaways) alleged thatKim Fowley raped her on New Year's Eve 1975, at a party following a Runaways performance at an Orange County club. Sixteen years old at the time, Fuchs was reportedly givenQuaaludes by a man she thought was a roadie, and while she was incapacitated, Fowley allegedly raped her in full view of a group of partygoers and her bandmates Currie, West, and Jett; Ford was not present.[107]Look Away, a documentary about sexual abuse in the rock music industry features Fuchs' story.[108]
Fuchs said that her last memory of the night was seeing Currie and Jett staring at her as Fowley raped her.[107] Kari Krome (co-founder and songwriter for the group) stated that she saw, "Jett and Currie sitting off to the side of the room for part of the time, snickering" during the rape.[107] In 2015, Jett stated "Anyone who truly knows me understands that if I was aware of a friend or bandmate being violated, I would not stand by while it happened. For a group of young teenagers thrust into '70s rock stardom there were relationships that were bizarre, but I was not aware of this incident. Obviously Jackie's story is extremely upsetting and although we haven't spoken in decades, I wish her peace and healing."[109][110]Victory Tischler-Blue (Fuchs's replacement in the group) said that all the members of the group "have always been aware of this ugly event".[111]
Solo albums
With Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Rock 'N Roll Sports Classic | Herself | |
| 1981 | Urgh! A Music War | Herself | |
| 1983 | Top '82 | Herself | |
| 1987 | Light of Day | Patti Rasnick | |
| 1992 | Highlander: The Series | Felicia Martins | Episode: "Free Fall" |
| 1997 | Ellen | Herself | Episode: "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" |
| 1998 | Boogie Boy | "Jerk" | |
| 2000 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Dierdre Harris | Episode: "Wedding Bells: Part 1" |
| 2001 | By Hook or by Crook | News Interviewee | |
| 2003 | The Sweet Life | Sherry | |
| 2004 | Godly Boyish | The Narrator | Voice role |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Sylvia Rhodes | Episode: "Reunion" |
| Repo! The Genetic Opera | Guitar Player | ||
| Lock and Roll Forever | Charlotte Superstar | ||
| 2009 | Endless Bummer | Del | |
| 2010 | Multiple Sarcasms | Herself | |
| 2013 | National Lampoon Presents: Surf Party | Del | |
| 2014 | Big Driver | Betsy Neal | |
| 2015 | Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll | Herself | Episode: "Lust for Life" |
| 2016 | The Muppets | Herself | Episode: "A Tail of Two Piggies" |
| Ordinary World | Herself | Cameo appearance | |
| 2018 | Steven Universe | Sunshine Justice | Episode: "The Big Show" |
| Mozart in the Jungle | Herself | Episode: "I Want You to Think of Me” | |
| Bad Reputation | Herself | Documentary film | |
| 2019 | NBC Sunday Night Football | Herself | Special performer withCarrie Underwood |
| CMA Music Festival | Herself withCarrie Underwood | Television special | |
| Undateable John | Roxy | ||
| 2020 | Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts | Camille (voice) | Episode: "Cactus Town" |
| 2022 | Bubble Guppies | Lead Rattler | Episode: “Race to the Oasis!” |
A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts was the opening group for the Beach Boys in the Beach Boys 1985 US tour). Jett was the first American act of any kind to perform behind the Iron Curtain and the first English-speaking rock band to appear in Panama and the Dominican Republic. The band also became the first rock band to perform a series of shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway, breaking a record for the fastest ticket sell-out.
Light of Day – Springsteen wrote the song and gave it to director Paul Schrader for his 1987 movie.
Last year, Jett drew good notices for her work in "Light of Day," a film that also starred Michael J. Fox.
Joan, who has been dubbed the godmother of punk,
American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter; called the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll
Hendrix, Mike "The Queen of Rock and Roll" (Outlaw Biker, issue 173, 2008)
"Yeah ... and don't forget to write that Joan Jett is the Queen of Rock 'n ...
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| Live albums | |
| Compilation albums | |
| Songs | |
| Films | |
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