"The raspy-voiced Joan Jett sung it loud and sung it proud. ""I Love Rock and Roll"" was as clear a statement of purpose for her and her band, the Blackhearts, as any band ever had. What's more, you couldn't doubt her sincerity. You could tell she swooned over '50s pompadours and Duane Eddy guitar licks as much as the fast, loud and hard punk charge of The Ramones. Blending a wide spectrum of rock influences together, her own sound--plus her tough-girl image--made her a major hit in the '80s. True fans have followed her career since then and been well rewarded.Born Joan Larkin in Philadelphia, PA, in 1960, she had formed her own band as a teenager, producing several albums with a backing band called The Runaways. Though they were big in Japan--a phrase that some aspiring band out there should dub themselves--they never hit major success in the states, and eventually broke up. Joan headed out to New York in 1980, releasing a solo album that was buried in the charts. After forming a backing band called the Blackhearts, her career picked up. By her third album, I Love Rock and Roll, Joan Jett had established herself with an untouchable hard-rock sound, filled with, loud, raw bass and some great songs. The title track became ubiquitous on rock radio, and her cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' ""Crimson and Clover"" was a lovely take on a classic ballad.Jett remained more of a footnote in rock throughout the '80s, when spandex arena-rock and New Wave topped the charts, but she would prove to be an oft-cited influence on the gritty ""riot girl"" bands in the alt-rock scenes of the '90s, with everyone from L7 to Bikini Kill saying her sass and fist-pumping bar rock made it cool for women to be in rock bands."