Rex, and New York Dolls record she could get her hands on. But it had been a long, hard road already.Īs a kid growing up in suburban Pennsylvania, Jett had absorbed every Black Sabbath, David Bowie, T. It’s a remarkable tale: Jett, aided by ever-present manager Kenny Laguna, building her career by fusing punk and glam and the sort of old school rock and roll that used to pepper the AM airwaves in the 1960s, along the way embracing the music videos that MTV was in desperate need of, becoming a household name in the process. One of the most iconic artists of the 1980s MTV era, Jett’s story was retold in last year’s career-spanning documentary Bad Reputation.
So when people see something they sense is authentic, they gravitate to it.” I’m talking about little kids, even, and definitely teenagers everybody’s got a brand. Everything nowadays is always about putting this best face forward-or phony face forward, as far as I’m concerned-with people creating their ‘brands’ online. “They’re looking for something that’s real, because we have so much fakeness today. “It’s a word that’s probably over-used today-authenticity-but I still think people are looking for it,” Jett says. That was, of course, followed by an equally speedy fall, courtesy of changing times and more than a little sexism-even from her own label-only to become a beacon of authenticity and an icon to the LGBT community (“I stand with everybody,” she says, proudly) in this decade. She survived the fractious rise and fall of her first band, the Runaways-recently chronicled in both a documentary and feature film-as well as her meteoric ascent in the early 1980s to the ranks of rock and roll’s elite, at the hands of the then-fledgling MTV. Jett’s story is, of course, the stuff of legend. But I do find the makeup of the audiences now-and for probably a good 10 years-has become all ages, and people who clearly like all styles of music, because I see everyone out there from hippies to punks.” “Either people are into it or they’re not. “It’s exciting, it’s gratifying, and it’s something that you can’t really manufacture,” Jett continues, reflecting on her newfound status as a rock and roll legend, playing to ever-larger crowds on a seemingly never-ending tour. She’s been called the Queen of Rock and Roll, not to mention the Godmother of Punk. “It’s amazing to see and feel that from the stage, but that’s so cool to hear.” “Yeah? What is it? Tell me!” Joan Jett demands, followed by a hearty laugh, when I tell her that when my kids recently saw her as the opening act for The Who, not having previously heard of her, they came away firm fans.
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