Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are an American rock band led by artist Joan Jett. After The Runaways split in 1979, Jett pursued a solo career to explore the same aggressive punk style and met Kenny Laguna. Jett soon released her self-titled debut.
Shortly after that, with Kenny's assistance, Joan formed the backing group "The Blackhearts" with three obscure New York area musicians: Gary Ryan on bass, Eric Ambel (replaced shortly thereafter by Rick Byrd) on guitar and Lee Crystal on drums. Read Full BioJoan Jett and the Blackhearts are an American rock band led by artist Joan Jett. After The Runaways split in 1979, Jett pursued a solo career to explore the same aggressive punk style and met Kenny Laguna. Jett soon released her self-titled debut.
Shortly after that, with Kenny's assistance, Joan formed the backing group "The Blackhearts" with three obscure New York area musicians: Gary Ryan on bass, Eric Ambel (replaced shortly thereafter by Rick Byrd) on guitar and Lee Crystal on drums. After almost a year of touring, Joan's first album with The Blackhearts, entitled I Love Rock'N'Roll came out in December of 1981. The album included a version of "Little Drummer Boy" on the pre-Christmas editions. The album's impact on the music scene was immediate with the LP reaching the Top Five, while the single "I Love Rock'n'Roll" hit the very top of the Billboard's Charts on March 20, 1982 and stayed #1 for 7 weeks. Joan Jett had come back from nowhere.
A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours with The Police, Queen, and Aerosmith, among others. Jett was the second American act of any kind to perform behind the Iron Curtain, the first one being Blood, Sweat & Tears in Romania in 1969. She was among the first English-speaking rock acts to appear in Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Forced label changes in the 80's led to a decline in popularity. Despite the follow-up albums "Album" and "Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth" being praised by her devout fans, neither got the attention or radio play the first two albums received.
After receiving her own MTV New Year's Eve special, Jett beat out a number of contenders to appear in the movie Light of Day with Michael J. Fox. It was about this time that Ryan and Crystal left the Blackhearts. They were soon replaced by the powerful rhythm section of Thommy Price and Kasim Sulton. Later that year, Jett released "Good Music", which featured appearances by The Beach Boys, The Sugarhill Gang and singer Darlene Love. The album only spawned two minor singles which received little airplay. This label decided the band had to either take in outside help or they would lose their contract.
And so they did. Her next release, Up Your Alley, went multi-platinum and was followed by "The Hit List", which was an international hit. Popular songwriter/producer Desmond Child was brought in, resulting in the release of album "Up Your Alley". This album brought the band a resurgence in popularity, with top 10 singles "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and "Little Liar".
This return to the spotlight would be short-lived, however. Follow-up album "The Hit List", an all-cover songs release, spawned only a minor hit with Jett's version of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds".
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts became the first rock band to perform a series of shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway, breaking the record at the time for the fastest ticket sell-out ever.
1991 and 1994 had two more releases, "Notorious" and "Pure & Simple". But radio had started looking to grunge by this time, and neither album got the attention they deserved.
In the 1990s, Jett and Laguna released "Flashback", a compilation of her career so far on their own Blackheart Records. Her next release, "Notorious" (which featured The Replacements' Paul Westerberg) was the last with Sony/CBS as Jett switched to Warner Brothers.
In 1994, the Blackhearts released the well received Pure and Simple, which featured tracks written with Kat Bjelland (Babes in Toyland), Donita Sparks (L7) and Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill).
While a slew of hits packages, some with an occasional new or previously unreleased track were released following this, it would be 10 years before a new studio album would appear.
This would be 2004's "Naked", and thus far has been a Japan-only release. The album sees Jett returning to a more raw and experimental sound, closer to that of her first 4 releases than the polished material that began with "Good Music".
Failing to get "Naked" released in other markets, Jett released on a more international level "Sinner" in June 2006, on Blackheart Records, her own label.. This album featured many remixed tracks from "Naked", and a complete rewrite of "Stuck in the Middle" to new version "Riddles". Lead-off single and video was a cover of "A.C.D.C." by Sweet.
To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006 Warped Tour, and embarked on a Fall 2006 tour with Eagles of Death Metal. Various other bands like Valient Thorr, The Vacancies, Throw Rag and Riverboat Gamblers were to have joined the tour for a handful of dates each.
Wynnewood
Shortly after that, with Kenny's assistance, Joan formed the backing group "The Blackhearts" with three obscure New York area musicians: Gary Ryan on bass, Eric Ambel (replaced shortly thereafter by Rick Byrd) on guitar and Lee Crystal on drums. Read Full BioJoan Jett and the Blackhearts are an American rock band led by artist Joan Jett. After The Runaways split in 1979, Jett pursued a solo career to explore the same aggressive punk style and met Kenny Laguna. Jett soon released her self-titled debut.
Shortly after that, with Kenny's assistance, Joan formed the backing group "The Blackhearts" with three obscure New York area musicians: Gary Ryan on bass, Eric Ambel (replaced shortly thereafter by Rick Byrd) on guitar and Lee Crystal on drums. After almost a year of touring, Joan's first album with The Blackhearts, entitled I Love Rock'N'Roll came out in December of 1981. The album included a version of "Little Drummer Boy" on the pre-Christmas editions. The album's impact on the music scene was immediate with the LP reaching the Top Five, while the single "I Love Rock'n'Roll" hit the very top of the Billboard's Charts on March 20, 1982 and stayed #1 for 7 weeks. Joan Jett had come back from nowhere.
A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours with The Police, Queen, and Aerosmith, among others. Jett was the second American act of any kind to perform behind the Iron Curtain, the first one being Blood, Sweat & Tears in Romania in 1969. She was among the first English-speaking rock acts to appear in Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Forced label changes in the 80's led to a decline in popularity. Despite the follow-up albums "Album" and "Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth" being praised by her devout fans, neither got the attention or radio play the first two albums received.
After receiving her own MTV New Year's Eve special, Jett beat out a number of contenders to appear in the movie Light of Day with Michael J. Fox. It was about this time that Ryan and Crystal left the Blackhearts. They were soon replaced by the powerful rhythm section of Thommy Price and Kasim Sulton. Later that year, Jett released "Good Music", which featured appearances by The Beach Boys, The Sugarhill Gang and singer Darlene Love. The album only spawned two minor singles which received little airplay. This label decided the band had to either take in outside help or they would lose their contract.
And so they did. Her next release, Up Your Alley, went multi-platinum and was followed by "The Hit List", which was an international hit. Popular songwriter/producer Desmond Child was brought in, resulting in the release of album "Up Your Alley". This album brought the band a resurgence in popularity, with top 10 singles "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and "Little Liar".
This return to the spotlight would be short-lived, however. Follow-up album "The Hit List", an all-cover songs release, spawned only a minor hit with Jett's version of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds".
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts became the first rock band to perform a series of shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway, breaking the record at the time for the fastest ticket sell-out ever.
1991 and 1994 had two more releases, "Notorious" and "Pure & Simple". But radio had started looking to grunge by this time, and neither album got the attention they deserved.
In the 1990s, Jett and Laguna released "Flashback", a compilation of her career so far on their own Blackheart Records. Her next release, "Notorious" (which featured The Replacements' Paul Westerberg) was the last with Sony/CBS as Jett switched to Warner Brothers.
In 1994, the Blackhearts released the well received Pure and Simple, which featured tracks written with Kat Bjelland (Babes in Toyland), Donita Sparks (L7) and Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill).
While a slew of hits packages, some with an occasional new or previously unreleased track were released following this, it would be 10 years before a new studio album would appear.
This would be 2004's "Naked", and thus far has been a Japan-only release. The album sees Jett returning to a more raw and experimental sound, closer to that of her first 4 releases than the polished material that began with "Good Music".
Failing to get "Naked" released in other markets, Jett released on a more international level "Sinner" in June 2006, on Blackheart Records, her own label.. This album featured many remixed tracks from "Naked", and a complete rewrite of "Stuck in the Middle" to new version "Riddles". Lead-off single and video was a cover of "A.C.D.C." by Sweet.
To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006 Warped Tour, and embarked on a Fall 2006 tour with Eagles of Death Metal. Various other bands like Valient Thorr, The Vacancies, Throw Rag and Riverboat Gamblers were to have joined the tour for a handful of dates each.
Wynnewood
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Bad Reputation
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Lyrics
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
You're living in the past it's a new generation
A girl can do what she wants to do and that's
What I'm gonna do
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
Never said I wanted to improve my station
An' I'm only doin' good
While I'm havin' fun
An' I don't have to please no one
An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me
I don't give a damn
'Bout my reputation
I've never been afraid of any deviation
An' I don't really care
If ya think I'm strange
I ain't gonna change
An' I'm never gonna care
'Bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me
Pedal boys!
An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my reputation
The world's in trouble
There's no communication
An' everyone can say what they want to say
It never gets better anyway
So why should I care
'Bout a bad reputation anyway
Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me
I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
You're living in the past it's a new generation
An' I only feel good when I got no pain
An' that's how I'm gonna stay
An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me
Oh no, not
Not me, not me, not me!
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Joan Jett, Kenneth Laguna, Martin Kupersmith, Ritchie Cordell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Lev Realness
@Vanessa Gutierrez- Ramirez Good point/perspective. I'm obvie "team Joan", but I actually kinda respect Kim for going after her law degree to be fair. People say the Kardashian's "do nothing"/are "famous for being famous" - and that's semi-true in the literal sense - but they work nonstop, if you think about it. They never have a minute off, and that shit comes with a price. Can you imagine your own mom being in on making your name/your entire family's livelihood off of a pre-meditated/deliberate sex tape "leak" you did when you were barely an adult?
Idk, I just see it as if they'll never be "normal" - nor have they ever really been... Let alone have they ever really even had a choice (especially the youngest two... forget about Kim's/Kylie's/Khloe's/Kourtney's offspring... And, I'm in no way meaning to insinuate anything negative about their parenting abilities, particularly as I myself am not a mother... I don't doubt they love their children. Kris is the "mastermind", but who knows her intentions - I'm not trying to imply she's a bad person...just a very shrewd one...)
I'm not defending the vacuous culture or toxic femininity they represent, but if you really think about it, it's not the "easy" or "glamorous" life everyone thinks it is... They don't seem happy in the truest sense, imo. And, I wish happiness for everyone, truthfully...
They need to have pretty thick skin, if you think about it. I couldn't handle that life, personally. I'm too private/sensitive. They're just as "tough" as Joan, but in a very polar opposite way (at least regarding public image/how they're perceived...)
I know I'm making this way deeper than probably necessary, but we (not "us", literally) - but "we" as a society - co-created them... Their popularity probably says more about America/the modern world (and, I'm American, so I don't mean that in an "anti" respect, just a fact/observation...) than it does about them, actually... They're just cashing in on the masses' interest/shift in pop culture...just like Paris Hilton before them, etc...
So long as there's a market or audience, right?
Sorry for the rant, you just got me thinking... And, I mean no hate towards anyone. I try not to "judge" - I'm hopefully expressing my opinion as respectfully as possible... There's (I hope) a discernable difference.
I love Sociology (I majored in Behavioural Sciences, lol. Go figure... 🤷🏻) - so this stuff fascinates me.
azure rainbow
Joan Jett must've been proud of Ronda Rousey for choosing this song as her entrance theme music in the UFC and then again again in the WWE.
Reclamation
Rousey flamed out😬
Hailie Waldon
Every other girl in my school: Kim kardasian
Me: Joan Jett
Momoskillz Aka JoJo91
Lmao.
derp
@Vanessa Gutierrez- Ramirez Kim is famous for her dad getting off a murderer and making a sex film. She has mainstreamed the bimbofication fetish. That's the entirety of her life's accomplishments. Joan Jett had a "Bad Reputation" because she actually created something and took on an image that rubbed people wrong. She stood up for her beliefs and viewpoints as they were expressed through her art.. Kim and her entire worthless family doesn't believe in anything but fame and money and they've created nothing of value with their entire time on this planet.
Lev Realness
@Salty bread J Feminism IS (or should be) about "choice"... (Like you were saying - I'm agreeing with you. I hope it didn't come across otherwise...)
Lev Realness
@Vanessa Gutierrez- Ramirez Good point/perspective. I'm obvie "team Joan", but I actually kinda respect Kim for going after her law degree to be fair. People say the Kardashian's "do nothing"/are "famous for being famous" - and that's semi-true in the literal sense - but they work nonstop, if you think about it. They never have a minute off, and that shit comes with a price. Can you imagine your own mom being in on making your name/your entire family's livelihood off of a pre-meditated/deliberate sex tape "leak" you did when you were barely an adult?
Idk, I just see it as if they'll never be "normal" - nor have they ever really been... Let alone have they ever really even had a choice (especially the youngest two... forget about Kim's/Kylie's/Khloe's/Kourtney's offspring... And, I'm in no way meaning to insinuate anything negative about their parenting abilities, particularly as I myself am not a mother... I don't doubt they love their children. Kris is the "mastermind", but who knows her intentions - I'm not trying to imply she's a bad person...just a very shrewd one...)
I'm not defending the vacuous culture or toxic femininity they represent, but if you really think about it, it's not the "easy" or "glamorous" life everyone thinks it is... They don't seem happy in the truest sense, imo. And, I wish happiness for everyone, truthfully...
They need to have pretty thick skin, if you think about it. I couldn't handle that life, personally. I'm too private/sensitive. They're just as "tough" as Joan, but in a very polar opposite way (at least regarding public image/how they're perceived...)
I know I'm making this way deeper than probably necessary, but we (not "us", literally) - but "we" as a society - co-created them... Their popularity probably says more about America/the modern world (and, I'm American, so I don't mean that in an "anti" respect, just a fact/observation...) than it does about them, actually... They're just cashing in on the masses' interest/shift in pop culture...just like Paris Hilton before them, etc...
So long as there's a market or audience, right?
Sorry for the rant, you just got me thinking... And, I mean no hate towards anyone. I try not to "judge" - I'm hopefully expressing my opinion as respectfully as possible... There's (I hope) a discernable difference.
I love Sociology (I majored in Behavioural Sciences, lol. Go figure... 🤷🏻) - so this stuff fascinates me.
alexis diaz
Oh god you sound like “I’m not like other girls”
clg0003
Ya see girls? It's OK to have a bad reputation. Be like Joan Jett.
Salty bread J
Me and my dad love joan jett