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Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on Broadway Press Kit, 1989
The following is the original text and photos from Blackheart Record's Press Kit for "Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on Broadway" sent to media outlets in 1989:
HOT FLASH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!
January 31, 1989
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS HIT BROADWAY THE HARD WAY
GRAMMY NOMINATION BUILDS ANTICIPATION FOR MARCH DATES ON BROADWAY
A Platinum-plus album and a Grammy nomination are combining to heighten the feverish anticipation for JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS' debut on Broadway, March 1-5, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City. These shows will be JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS' first New York City concert hall appearance in over four years.
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS have been nominated for a Grammy Award ("Best Rock Performance By A Group", for their Top 10 single "I Hate Myself For Loving You") as album sales soar and America catches the group on tour.
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS: The Great White Way will never be the same!
For further information, contact: EPIC, PORTRAIT, CBS ASSOCIATED LABELS PRESS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION
51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019/1801 Century Park West, Los Angeles, CA 90067
OPENING NIGHT: MARCH 1, 1989
LUNT-FONTANNE THEATRE
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MESSRS. NEDERLANDER
JOHN SCHER PRESENTS
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS
ON BROADWAY
MARCH 1-5
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS
JOAN JETT - Lead vocal & guitar
RICKY BYRD - Guitar & vocal
KASIM SULTON - Bass guitar & vocal
SANDY GENNARO - Drums
JOAN JETT
In 1975, Joan Jett formed The Runaways, the first all-girl rock and roll band. The Runaways released a half-dozen LPs and toured the world for three years. Joan played a fierce rhythm guitar and wrote much of the group's material, including their Japanese Number One hit, "Cherry Bomb." The Runaways' music and attitude shocked many people at the time. But the band shattered male/female stereotypes, and paved the way for other female musicians. The Runaways disbanded in 1979.
In 1979, Joan Jett met Meryl and Kenny Laguna. Kenny was no stranger to the music business, having written, produced, and/or performed 18 international hits for The Ohio Express, Tommy James & the Shondells, Jay & the Americans, and The 1910 Fruitgum Company. A mutual love of simple, good-time beat music brought Kenny, Meryl and Joan together; the result was Jett's first solo album, Bad Reputation. This record set the pattern for future LPs: a high-spirited blend of Jett originals and classic favorites.
Joan formed a new band, The Blackhearts, to offer the kind of no-holds-barred performances for which The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed her "the toughest, grittiest, hardest-working woman in rock and roll." Initially issued on the Jett/Laguna label Blackheart Records, Bad Reputation sold more than 20,000 copies even before it was picked up for distribution by Neil Bogart's Boardwalk Records.
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With the release of I Love Rock And Roll in 1981, Joan Jett's hard work and artistic integrity paid off in full. This multi-Platinum LP spun off the Double Platinum title hit (a Number One record for eight straight weeks) and the Top Ten single, "Crimson & Clover." Joan's 1983 release, the generically-titled Album, sustained the hot streak with Gold sales and two more hit singles. The next year brought forth Glorious Results Of A Misspent Youth; critic Dave Marsh called it "devastating hard rock, as unrepentant as its title." The next year Joan debuted on the CBS Associated/Blackheart label with the album Good Music.
In February, 1987, Joan drew critical raves for her moving performance in the Paul Schrader film Light Of Day, in which she co-starred with Michael J. Fox. Time wrote that "Jett, rock star in her first movie role, is terrific...with her melodramatic dark eyes and mesmerizing surliness. Jett has the attitude and gives the performance. Try watching someone else when she is on screen. Can't be done." And USA Today added: "Though it's Fox who seems to have drawn the crowds, it is Jett, who plays rebellious single mother Patti, to whom the movie belongs." Joan sang the title theme song, "Light Of Day," written by Bruce Springsteen.
After more than a decade of professional music-making, Joan Jett still believes strongly in the rock and roll subculture, and still adheres to the ethics on which the music was built. She has remained uncompromising in her commitment to the rudiments of pure rock and roll, and Up Your Alley, the group's current hit platinum album has re-confirmed this philosophy. The band was recently honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Group for the song "I Hate Myself For Loving You," one of the two smash hits already on this album.
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Live performance remains Joan's first love. In 1985, a typical year, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts toured 14 countries on three continents, including headlining performances in 18 cities in Sweden alone. The group was the first American act of any kind to be invited to play in the G.D.R. (East Germany), and the first English-speaking rock band to appear in Panama. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts have played everywhere, including a remote jungle site in the Dominican Republic. Now Joan Jett and the Blackhearts bring their pure hard rock to the concrete jungle of New York City with the immediate sellout of their Broadway engagement.
RICKY BYRD. Since Ricky Byrd joined The Blackhearts in 1981, he has helped create the unique sound for which the band is famous. His universally familiar lead-break on the hit single "I Love Rock and Roll" was only the beginning of this long-term relationship. In addition to his lead guitar work, Ricky has co-written many songs on the last few albums with Joan and Kenny.
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KASIM SULTON is one of the most respected musicians in New York City. He has played and sung background vocals on numerous hit records for everyone from Mick Jagger to Meatloaf. He was an original member of Todd Rundgren's Utopia and wrote their smash single "Set Me Free." Kasim has been a Blackheart for three years.
SANDY GENNARO brings to the band a real New York street vibe in his percussion work. He played drums on Cyndi Lauper's successful American and European tours as well as session and road work for Michael Bolton and Pat Travers. Sandy Gennaro is the newest Blackheart.
RONNIE LAWSON (Keyboards) is a prominent player on the New York scene who has appeared on several Joan Jett and the Blackhearts records, including the current Up Your Alley.
UPTOWN HORNS - (ARNO HECHT, CRISPIN CIOE, ROBERT FUNK, PAUL LITTERAL) is the top horn section in rock and roll today. The members have played on Joan Jett and the Blackhearts records and major concerts since 1984.
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