Joan Jett’s Mixtape Memoir:
Rock ‘n Roll Rebel
Before renaming herself Joan Jett in her teens, Joan Larkin was born in Philadelphia, and spent her early childhood in Pittsburgh before her family moved to Rockville, Maryland, and then Los Angeles shortly after Joan got her first guitar for Christmas at thirteen years old. At sixteen she started her career with her first band The Runaways. In 1975 an all female band was nearly unheard of, let alone a woman playing electric guitar, and today, there are four Joan Jett signature guitars - a perfect example of the many trails she has blazed over the course of her almost five decade career. After The Runaways disbanded, Joan Jett soon met her future and now longtime manager, co-writer, and producer Kenny Laguna, put an ad in the paper for four band members, and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts was born. Discovering that no record company would sign them, they founded Blackheart Records, sold vinyl out of the trunk of Kenny’s Cadillac, and went on to score eight platinum and gold records and nine top 40 singles, and in 2015 Joan Jett and The Blackhearts were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Joan is also a sought-after producer, and most recently produced and recorded an album for one of our Season Two guests, Wanda Jackson. It goes without saying that Joan Jett is an icon and an inspiration, and nearly fifty years into her career, she is still pushing through barriers and boundaries, kicking down doors for the generations behind her. Forever and always, a rock and roll rebel.
LISTEN HERE:
Episode Credits:
Host/creator/creative director - Carmel Holt @carmelholt
Editor/Mixing/Mastering - Phoebe Wang @feebswang
Theme music - Lucius @ilovelucius
Cover art - Merle Cooper @m.c.cooper
Art direction - @carmelholt
Guest: Joan Jett / @joanjett
Label: Blackheart Records / @blackheartrecords
