"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a 1975 rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker for their English glam rock band, the Arrows. The song received international attention when it was covered by Joan Jett for her 1981 album I Love Rock 'n Roll. Jett's version is the best known rendition of the song.
Conceived by Merrill in response to "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" by the Rolling Stones, Jett first saw the Arrows perform the song on their self-titled UK series in 1976. She brought it to her band of the time, the Runaways, who ultimately passed on the song. After the Runaways split, Jett and the Blackhearts covered the song. Released in 1982 as a single, it topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and several international charts, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over two million copies within the United States.
Jett's version is often featured in professional listings of the greatest songs of all time. It is an enduring work, being covered by artists such as Britney Spears and parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic. In 2016, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Background Merrill of the Arrows wrote both the music and lyrics, whilst living in London at Nell Gwynn House in Chelsea. He gave a co-writer credit to Hooker as part of settling a debt. In an interview with Songfacts, Merrill said he wrote the song as "a knee-jerk response to the Rolling Stones' 'It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)'." It is a hard rock song. It was recorded in 1975.
Release The song was originally released by the Arrows in 1975 on Rak Records, with Merrill on lead vocals and guitar and Mickie Most producing. This version was first released as a B-side, but was soon re-recorded and flipped to A-side status on a subsequent pressing of the record. Arrows performed the song in 1975 on the Muriel Young-produced show 45, after which Young offered Arrows a weekly UK television series, Arrows, which was broadcast on ITV starting in March 1976.
Joan Jett version
Background Joan Jett saw the Arrows perform "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on their weekly UK television series Arrows while she was touring England with the Runaways in 1976. The Runaways' producer and manager Kim Fowley had the band learn the song in the summer of 1977, during the brief period when Vicki Blue had replaced Jackie Fox as bass player and Cherie Currie was still the group's vocalist. However, the band ultimately passed on the song since they had previously covered The Velvet Underground's "Rock & Roll". After the Runaways disbanded, Jett recorded the first version of the song in 1979, with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of Sex Pistols. It was released on vinyl in 1979 on Vertigo Records as a B-side to "You Don't Own Me" to limited success.
In 1981, Jett re-recorded the song with her newly-founded band, the Blackhearts, to be featured on the album of the same name. Jett recalled the recording being vigorously paced, since, "During the weekdays we'd be in the studio and during the weekends we'd travel around the New York area, the Northeast, doing gigs, [...] we were doing both without really stopping. Which was good I thought, it really kept us together, it kept us sharp." It was produced by Kenny Laguna, Jett's long-time friend and collaborator, and Ritchie Cordell. Like the Arrows' original version, it is a hard rock song.
Of the song's impact compared to the Arrows' original recording, Dave Ling of Louder quipped that "you'd be forgiven for not knowing it was a cover version." Arrow band member Alan Merrill himself told Jett in 2013 that "she was an honorary Arrow because she looked like one of us. I always fancied her, and we developed a loose friendship. Since then she has played a large part in my life and I in hers, whether she admits it or not."
Release and promotion "I Love Rock 'n Roll" was released as a single on January 20, 1982, distributed by Boardwalk Records in the United States and Canada.
The music video for "I Love Rock 'n Roll" produced by Barry Ralbag, received heavy play by the fledgling MTV network. It featured Jett and the Blackhearts traveling to a small, dingy bar and then exciting the drunken crowd by performing the song and yelling out its chorus. The filming location was at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 85th Street on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City. At the time, the bar was called Privates, now a Starbucks. A snippet of Jett's 1981 hit "Bad Reputation" can be heard at the beginning of the video. The video was originally in colour, but it was converted to black and white because Jett hated the look of her red leather jumpsuit.
In 1993 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts made another music video for the song as part of the Wayne's World 2 soundtrack. The video consisted of scenes from the movie, with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, mixed with footage of Jett and her band in a faux concert filmed at Irving Plaza in New York City. The song was again released as a single by Warner/Reprise with "Activity Grrrl" as the B-side.
Reception and legacy "I Love Rock 'n Roll" was a critical and commercial success. At the Juno Awards of 1983, the song was nominated for International Single of the Year, losing to "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. The song became a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for seven weeks, being the only one for the band.Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 322. On September 20, 1982, the song was platinum-certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over two million copies in the United States. It ultimately emerged as both the third most successful song of 1982 and one of the decade's most successful songs. In 2024, 42 years after its release, it debuted on the Billboard Hard Rock Streaming Songs charts at number 23.
AllMusic's Steve Huey called the song a "cornerstone single in the brave new world opened up for female rock musicians" and said her cover "gives the tune a slightly punky flavor—sort of the Ramones meets "Louie Louie"—but the song's deliberate tempo and Jett's love of the big chorus hook set it squarely in the realm of hard rock." Michael Cohen of Creem complimented Jett's "contagious enthusiasm". Hugh McIntyre of Forbes deemed it "one of the world’s favorite rock songs. It’s insanely catchy with just enough of an edge, so how could the public not love it?" Writers of Record World said it "has anthem qualities and heroic lead guitar riffs that should take it all the way to the top." Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote, "Joan Jett uses the song to put the full force of her tough-kid charisma on display. She makes a simple statement of musical preference sound like a rallying cry, a statement of religious truth, a come-on. She makes rock ‘n’ roll sound like something worth loving."
In 2005, Q placed "I Love Rock 'n Roll" at number 85 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!" In 2008, the song was placed at number 56 in Billboards "Greatest Songs of All Time" list. Rolling Stone has placed the song on the 2004 and 2010 iterations of their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list, at 484 and 491 respectively; the same publication also ranked it number 97 on their 2023 list of "The 200 Best Songs of The 1980s". Jett's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from the I Love Rock 'n Roll liner notes.
Joan Jett – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
The Blackhearts
Ricky Byrd – lead guitar, backing vocals Gary Ryan – bass, backing vocals Lee Crystal – drums
Additional personnel
Kenny Laguna – production Ritchie Cordell – production
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1982)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)1Canada Top Singles (RPM)Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: the essential chart guide (2000).1Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)8France (SNEP) You have to use the index at the top of the page and search "Joan Jett & the Blackhearts"4South Africa (Springbok Radio)1US Cash Box Top 1001 Chart (1992–1994)PeakpositionEurope (Eurochart Hot 100)21 Chart (2021)Peakposition
Year-end charts Chart (1982)PositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)7Belgium (Ultratop)26Canada Top Singles (RPM)1Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)25Netherlands (Single Top 100)22New Zealand (RIANZ)7South Africa (Springbok Radio)7US Billboard Hot 1003US Cash Box Top 1005West Germany (Media Control)34 Chart (1994)PositionSweden (Topplistan)58
All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) PositionUS Billboard Hot 10072
Certifications
Britney Spears version
Background and release "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is the fourth European single from American singer Britney Spears' third studio album, Britney (2001), released on 27 May 2002. The song was used in her 2002 film Crossroads, in which her character Lucy performs it in a karaoke bar. Spears said of the song, "They asked me to sing karaoke in the movie Crossroads and I've actually sung 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' in a lot of clubs that I've been to." Spears has publicly stated that the original song is one of her favorites. She listened to the original Arrows Mickie Most-produced version just before she recorded the song, according to Jive A&R representative Steve Lunt. The scratches performed on this version were performed by Corey Chase at The Hit Factory Criteria studios in Miami. When promoting the single's release, Spears mistakenly attributed the successful version of the song to Pat Benatar instead of Joan Jett.
Promotion The music video, directed by Chris Applebaum, shows Spears with her own band, a stack of speakers and flashing lights. The video begins in black and white and switches to and from colour throughout. It was shot at The Inn, a bar in Long Beach, New York. The video was ranked at number two on the 100 Best Videos of 2002 list during MTV Latin America's countdown. A director's cut version of the video was later leaked, containing previously unseen scenes.
The song was performed live during Spears' Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–02). In 2016, it was added to the revamped set list of her Las Vegas residency show, Britney: Piece of Me (2016–17), marking the first time Spears performed the song in 14 years. During the performance, Spears rode a mechanical electric guitar, which simulated a mechanical bull, as it rotated on stage. The same prop electric guitar had been used during her Femme Fatale Tour (2011) for a segment in which she covered the song "Burning Up" by Madonna. At the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, the song was performed as part of a medley.
Reception "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" charted moderately upon release, reaching the top 20 in most regions. The song was moderately successful in the UK, where it peaked at number 13 (which, at the time, was Spears' lowest peak for a single released there, until "If U Seek Amy" only managed to reach number 20 in 2009). It was certified gold in Australia.