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JOAN JETT still loves rock 'n' roll
from: SouthofBoston.com
Back in the '80s, JOAN JETT's music was rough enough to call punk, but smooth enough to score a handful of hits. A lot of that had to do with her longtime collaboration with manager, song producer and friend KENNY LAGUNA.
Jett and Laguna first started working together in 1979 when Jett was 18. She had been singing and playing guitar in the RUNAWAYS, an all-girl rock band that also featured Lita Ford. Laguna helped Jett produce a six-song EP shortly after the RUNAWAYS abruptly broke up.
At that point, Jett no longer had a band or a record deal, and no one offered to sign her.
"A lot of people weren't ready for a woman who sang and played guitar, but I thought she was amazing," Laguna recalled in a recent phone call from his home in New York. "She was this little girl who had the ability to let it all hang out. The sound of her voice and the way she screamed were just great, but people didn't understand her, and she couldn't get a deal. I got sucked in by her and decided to help."
Jett, who plays Plymouth Memorial Hall with the Blackheats on Nov. 15, has always projected a tough image. Laguna says that part of that is true, but not all of it. "Jett is very strong as a human being," he said. "She has her convictions, especially when it comes to the music, but she also a very soft, kind person. Her look is hard, and some people think she's mean, but she's not at all. She just has a mental toughness that is unbelievable."
In 1979, Laguna had been in the music business for about 15 years, having played keyboards with Tommy James and the Shondells and then producing songs for artists as varied as Bill Medley, Tony Orlando and even Bow Wow Wow (I Want Candy).
As it turned out, Laguna's pop sensibility was just what Jett needed to smooth out her sound and make it more marketable.
"Jett likes hardcore punk music like Fugazi or the Sex Pistols, and I like ‘bubblegum,' so in between what she likes and what I like is a JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS record."
They tried peddling Jett's music to every record company without success, so they printed some themselves, visited as many radio stations as they could, and sold about 15,000 out of the trunk of Jett's car.
Eventually Neil Bogart's Boardwalk label signed Jett to a deal in 1981, which led to a string of hits over the next decade including "Bad Reputation," "Crimson and Clover" and 1982's No. 1 hit, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll."
While she never set out to be a role model, Jett's hard-rocking career helped pave the way for countless women in rock. The New York Times once called Jett the "godmother to female musicians with loud guitars and idealistic dreams."
In the years since her biggest hits, she's had a varied career. In 1987, she made a movie with Michael J. Fox called "Light of Day." Bruce Springsteen wrote the title song; Jett sang it and had another hit.
More recently she starred on Broadway in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Her music has been on the soundtrack to countless films, from "Tank Girl" to "10 Things I Hate About You" to "Shrek." And she's performed concerts for United States troops overseas on USO tours in 2001 and 2002.
These days, Jett is recording on her own label, BLACKHEART RECORDS. And she's still performing and loving it.
"For Jett, it's really all about the performance," Laguna said. "She still gets excited and nervous, and when she comes to Plymouth, she's going to care about every little nuance just like it was the first show she ever did."
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS At Plymouth Memorial Hall, 83 Court St., Plymouth. Nov. 15. $32, $37. 508-747-0234, www.ticketweb.com.
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