Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ I LOVE ROCK 'N ROLL

I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL was originally recorded and released by The Arrows in 1975 on Rak Records, featuring Alan Merrill on lead vox and guitar, with Mickie Most as the producer. Alan stated that he wrote the song as "a knee-jerk response to The Rolling Stones' IT'S ONLY ROCK ’N ROLL (BUT I LIKE IT).”

Joan Jett watched 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 the next summer. During the brief period when Vicki Blue replaced Jackie Fox as bassist, yet Cherie Currie remained the group's vox.

After leaving The Runaways, Joan recorded the song in 1979 with two members of the Sex Pistols: Steve Jones and Paul Cook. This initial version was released on vinyl in 1979 under Vertigo Records as a B-side to "YOU DON’T OWN ME." 

Two years later, she re-recorded the song, this time with her new band, The Blackhearts. This version was released in late 1981 and became a US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for seven weeks. It was the only Number One single for the band and the Number Three song for 1982. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing two million units shipped to stores. 

Joan Jett & The Blackheart’s version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.