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JOAN JETT kicks off Sunset Strip Music Festival, 'Goddess of Rock' named 2013 honoree
from: dailynews.com
by Mariecar Mendoza, Staff Writer
In 1981, JOAN JETT got Los Angeles to scream: "I love rock 'n' roll!"
More than three decades later, Los Angeles showed that they love her, too, by giving her a coveted music award.
"It's surreal. I left L.A. with a very bitter taste in my mouth," Jett said, referring to the nearly two dozen rejections she got from Los Angeles record labels before hitting it big in the music scene. "And now I'm coming back to all this. It's a great feeling."
Jett, who once lived off the Sunset strip across from the Whisky A Go Go, received the Elmer Valentine Award and was named the 2013 honoree of the Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF) on Thursday night at a packed House of Blues in West Hollywood, kicking off the festival that celebrates the rock 'n' roll scene along the famed Sunset Boulevard.
She was also presented with her own signature Gibson guitar, which had the rebel girl's photo on the back, and the West Hollywood City Council proclaimed Aug. 1, 2013 JOAN JETT Day.
"It's very, very humbling," said Jett after accepting the award, "and I can't say more than that because I'll cry."
The 54-year-old "Goddess of Rock" joins the ranks of SSMF rock legends Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Motley Crüe and The Doors, but was the first award recipient to perform live after receiving the honor.
And Jett played a full set with her band The BLACKHEARTS, rocking everything from classics like "Bad Reputation" and "Cherry Bomb" to "Make It Back," a new song dedicated to victims of Hurricane Sandy including her neighbors in Long Beach, NY.
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS also did their first live performance of the band's newest single, "Any Weather," which Jett co-wrote the song with Foo Fighter's frontman Dave Grohl. The song is on the band's forthcoming album, "Unvarnished," which is set to release in October. It'll be Jett's 14th studio album with The BLACKHEARTS in seven years.
"She's been just a huge inspiration to not only me, but to so many other female rock musicians "" musicians in general," said Rosie of Rosie & The Cobras, who has been described as "a tomboy rocker a la JOAN JETT" by critics. "She's just an incredible woman."
Jett started playing at age 15 and led the all-girl punk quintet The RUNAWAYS before the band broke up in 1977. She formed The BLACKHEARTS in the 1980s and since then, Jett has had eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles, including "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," "I Hate Myself For Loving You," and "Crimson and Clover."
"I would watch JOAN JETT on MTV and was just amazed because she was a woman playing hard-ass guitar," said Jett fan Denise Bellingham of Burbank. "When my daughter was born I was just so happy to see JOAN JETT rocking it out there because she set a great example for girls."
Comedian Margaret Cho, a longtime fan and friend, said Jett helped her discover herself.
"She' really taught me that you can be rock 'n' roll and a girl," Cho said. "I think you give girls so much hope and so much rock n' roll and so much life. You have saved so many lives -- and not just girls -- everybody in the world! We look up to you. You've given us all a bag of dimes. We don't give a damn about your bad reputation. We've all become cherry bombs because of you."
The sixth annual Sunset Strip Music Festival is a four-day celebration of music that includes shows at historic rock 'n' roll clubs like The Roxy, Whisky A Go Go and Viper Room. The celebration concludes Saturday with an all-day outdoor block party featuring AWOLNATION, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and headliners Linkin Park.
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