Listen to and enjoy: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts with I Love Rock 'n' Roll (1982)

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written in 1975 by Alan Merrill of the Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later made famous by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in 1982. Merrill still plays the song live, most often in his hometown of New York City.

Joan Jett saw 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. She first recorded the song in 1979 with two of the Sex Pistols, Steve Jones and Paul Cook. This first version was released on vinyl in 1979 on Vertigo records as a B-side to "You Don't Own Me". In 1981, Jett re-recorded the song, this time with her band, the Blackhearts. This recording became a U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for seven weeks. Billboard ranked it at the No. 3 song for 1982. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing two million units shipped to stores, with Jett's I Love Rock 'n Roll album reaching number two on the Billboard 200. Jett's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.