With the New York Times recently hailing Joan Jett as the “godmother to female musicians with loud guitars and idealistic dreams,” that moniker joins “the queen of punk” “the girl Elvis” and “the original riot grrrl” as another way to describe the timeless appeal of a woman and her music.
Joan Jett’s icon status as a pop culture symbol of what women can achieve continues to grow throughout the world. “Fit To Be Tied” is Joan’s first greatest hits CD, (out on Mercury) to the delight of all her fans. With a new Joan Jett and the Blackhearts album due on Warners in the fall, a Runaways retrospective due, and and a role in the film “Boogie Boy” by Pulp Fiction alums Craig Hamann and Roger Avary, Joan Jett is poised on a unique historic moment to honor her past and celebrate her future.
Joan, perhaps the first female artist to own her own record label, has expanded that part of her universe by joining forces with her original record company, Mercury/Universal, to distribute Blackheart Records through a major label for the first time and to revitalize the already impressive catalog sales of The Runaways, by retooling and reconfiguring the works of Mercury’s original “bad girl” rock & roll band.
Along with the Blackhearts, longtime drummer-Thommy Price, guitarist-Doug Cangialosi and bass player-Sean Koos, Joan has almost completed ”Friend to Friend”, an album of deep thoughts and hit tunes further enriched by the one/two punch of producers Ted Templeman and Kenny Laguna. Joining the fun are old friends like legendary songwriter Jim Vallance and new friends like riot grrrl queen, Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill.
The Blackhearts recently contributed a track to the Iggy Pop tribute album to benefit Lifebeat, a music industry aids charity. Joan’s interest in charity and women’s causes allowed her to express her support of women’s college basketball by rocking up “The Mary Tyler Moore” theme song, “Love Is All Around”, which became an anthem and instant hit record.
Joan brings this honesty, purity and intensity to all things she believes in, especially music. She produced the Germs seminal punk album, GI as well as tracks for Bikini Kill and Dischord Records’ Circus Lupus. Over the years she has invited everyone from R.E.M. and Social Distortion to the Butthole Surfers and Lungfish to open for her. She recently joined the Indigo Girls on stage at Madison Square Garden for an encore of “Crimson and Clover”. The Lillith Fair artists and Nine Inch Nails cite her as an inspiration. The integrity of the woman and her music is the bough that won’t break, the backbone of today’s rock & roll feminist revolution.
Source: http://www.joanjett.com/
