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.
After a long break from recording, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released a 6-song EP of new material, "Mindsets," in June 2023.
Wynnewood
A Hundred Feet Away
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waiting for the star above to come and join her
On the street
Maybe he'll want some company and she's got a dirty plan
But he can disappear so suddenly better grab 'em while you can you better
Standing in a lonely room high above the crowd below
Underneath begins to show
Living in a world of fantasy can't let the image fall
But he ain't the man he planned to be and he would
Give it all
For just a little girl in love someone who could share his day
And just what he was dreaming of
Was just a hundred feet away
Just a little girl in love just a little girl in love
There was just a little girl in love there was just a little girl in love
The lyrics of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ song A Hundred Feet Away explore themes of unrequited love, loneliness, and fantasy versus reality. The song tells the story of a young girl who is in love with a man who lives in a penthouse suite a hundred feet away. She spends her nights looking up at his window, waiting for him to notice her and join her on the street below. She feels that if he were to spend time with her, he’d see that she’s a worthwhile companion, but also realizes that he could disappear at any moment.
The song then shifts perspective to the man who lives in the penthouse suite. He is also lonely, despite living in a world of fantasy. He longs for someone to share his day with and fulfill his dreams, which he sees as being just a hundred feet away. Both the girl and the man are yearning for love and connection, but their desires are unfulfilled, leading to a sense of melancholy.
The song’s haunting melody and poetic lyrics capture the bittersweet longing of unrequited love and the harsh reality of unfulfilled dreams. It shows the vulnerability of human emotion and the often-unrealistic fantasies that we use to keep ourselves going.
Line by Line Meaning
Just a little girl in love staring at a penthouse suite
A young woman who is deeply in love is gazing wistfully at a luxurious building
Waiting for the star above to come and join her
She hopes that her beloved will come down from the sky to be with her
On the street
The girl is standing outside on the pavement
Maybe he'll want some company and she's got a dirty plan
She is hoping that her love interest will be interested in her and she is prepared to be daring to get his attention
But he can disappear so suddenly better grab 'em while you can you better
She knows that he might leave her at any time, so she is ready to seize the opportunity to be with him while she still can
Standing in a lonely room high above the crowd below
The man she loves is isolating himself in a distant room from everyone else
With no one there to share the gloom when
He is facing emotional distress on his own
Underneath begins to show
He is starting to reveal his true self and his struggles
Living in a world of fantasy can't let the image fall
He is living in a world of his own creation and he cannot let his facade crumble
But he ain't the man he planned to be and he would
He is not the person he envisioned himself to be and he is willing to make changes
Give it all
He is willing to risk it all for love
For just a little girl in love someone who could share his day
All he wants is someone to love and who can be there for him
And just what he was dreaming of
His fantasies and desires for love were coming true
Was just a hundred feet away
The girl he loves is standing just a short distance away
Just a little girl in love just a little girl in love
Repeating the phrase, emphasizing the girl's youth and innocence
There was just a little girl in love there was just a little girl in love
Repeating the phrase, representing the simplicity of his desires and heart's wishes
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: JOAN JETT, KENNETH BENJAMIN LAGUNA, PETER ANDREOLI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind