Alan Merrill's 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll': A story of twists that led to one of the greatest rock anthems ever
As the world of rock 'n roll mourns the passing of Alan Merrill, who recently succumbed to the coronavirus, the writer and original singer of the genre-defining song 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll', we take a look back at the story of just how this song that shaped so many careers actually came to be.
When Joan Jett & the Blackhearts recorded the song 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' back in 1981, they knew they had a hit on their hands. They probably never predicted just how big or enduring a hit it would turn out to be. And yet, the song almost did not become what it was destined to be.
Originally written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and recorded by Merrill's group The Arrows in 1975, the song was initially a response to the Rolling Stones' 'It's Only Rock 'N' Roll'. Speaking about the song's inception, Merrill said "I remember watching it on Top of the Pops. I'd met Mick Jagger socially a few times, and I knew he was hanging around with Prince Rupert Lowenstein and people like that – jet setters. I almost felt like 'It's Only Rock and Roll' was an apology to those jet-set princes and princesses that he was hanging around with - the aristocracy, you know. That was my interpretation as a young man: Okay, I love rock and roll. And then, where do you go with that?"
The song was initially released as a B-side track to The Arrows' 'Broken Down Heart'. Christina Hayes, the wife of RAK Records founder Mickie Most convinced Merrill to flip the sides despite him saying he didn't care for the track all that much as he preferred ballads and blues. The process of flipping the tracks, combined with it being released during an English paper strike as well as a feud between The Arrows and their record label caused the release to perform poorly, and the song quickly faded into obscurity.
That is, until the late 70s when The Arrows performed 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' when they were guests on the UK TV series 'Pop 45'. Their performance impressed producer Muriel Young to such a great extent, she gave them their own TV show called 'The Arrows Show' which ran for two 14-week seasons from 1976-1977 in the UK. And it was on this show that a certain Joan Jett happened to see the song being performed, prompting her to acquire a copy of it, and eventually cover it five years later.
Why it took five whole years is yet another story full of twists and turns, one that caused the song to nearly not become the feminist anthem it turned out to be.
Jett was on tour in England with the girl group 'The Runaways' when she first acquired the song and pitched it to them as a cover. The other members rejected it, however, prompting Jett to record it with Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols and release it as a B-side in 1979, the same year The Runaways officially disbanded. Following the split, Jett teamed up with producer Kenny Laguna, who was originally introduced to Jett via The Runaways' manager and was asked to produce their final album. This was a collaboration that never materialized. Instead, Laguna was introduced to The Who via Peter Meaden, the manager of The Arrows.
Had Laguna agreed to produce The Runaways album, they would have probably recorded 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'. After all, Laguna thought the song was a hit. Instead, he would later go on to work with Jett and help her put together her first album, which the two would eventually release via their own label -- Blackheart Records -- after having trouble finding a label to release it for them. When Jett's songs 'Do You Wanna Touch Me' and 'Bad Reputation' began getting airplay, the duo secured a deal with Boardwalk Records. And now that they had a label, Jett was ready to record and release 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' as the first single off her second album.
But it still wouldn't be smooth sailing. Jett's first cover with The Sex Pistols was owned by The Polygram company, who did not care for the song or for Jett. Laguna paid the studio $2,300 and secured the rights to the 'I Love Rock and Roll' cover with The Sex Pistols, as well as two other tracks. After seeing the cover gaining some traction, Jett finally got to record her own cover of the song with her new band The Blackhearts in 1982. Her version of the song shifted the narrative from being about a man picking up a young girl and taking her home to one about a girl who notices a man standing by a jukebox and invites him home to have sex. While many women were singing songs with sexual overtones at the time, none were quite as overt as what Joan Jett & the Blackhearts put out with 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'.
Not only did the song become a massive hit that would define the hard rock genre for women, but it was also, for many, a song about female empowerment. And it sealed Joan Jett's image as a tough rock star who was able to rival her male counterparts as a performer and musician and would go on to inspire female musicians for decades.
But despite the song's epic journey and what it did for her career, Jett has often tried to downplay it. Even when she was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, she opted to play other songs over this one. And even at her own shows, she generally performs 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' in the middle of sets bookended by 'Bad Reputation' and 'I Hate Myself For Loving You'. Speaking about the song in a 2008 interview with Mojo magazine Jett said, "I think most people who love some kind of rock 'n' roll can relate to it. Everyone knows a song that just makes them feel amazing and want to jump up and down. I quickly realized, this song is gonna follow you, so you're either gonna let it bother you, or you gotta make peace with it, and feel blessed that you were involved with something that touched so many people."