Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Driven by American guitarist and singer Joan Jett, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts emerged at the turn of the 1980s, following Jett’s stint with the teenage band The Runaways in Los Angeles. After relocating to New York, she teamed up with producer and musician Kenny Laguna and formed Joan Jett & The Blackhearts around a direct, straight-ahead rock sound at the crossroads of hard rock, punk rock, and power pop. The band settled into a guitar-bass-drums lineup, toured intensively across North American clubs and arenas, and recorded "I Love Rock ’n Roll" (1981), following the solo record "Bad Reputation" (1980), which cemented the Blackhearts’ aesthetic: tight riffs, choruses sung in unison, and a simple, driving beat. The 1980s brought "Album" (1983), "Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth" (1984), and "Up Your Alley" (1988), affirming Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ classic, glam-tinged rock direction, even as Jett’s lineup evolved over successive tours. In the decades that followed, with "The Hit List" (1990), "Pure and Simple" (1994), "Sinner" (2006), and "Unvarnished" (2013), Joan Jett & The Blackhearts carried that raw yet melodic sound forward—mixing covers and original compositions—while remaining tied to the independent label Blackheart Records, founded by Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna.