Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are an American rock band led by artist Joan … Read Full Bio ↴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. 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

Fantasy
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've been friends with you for many days
And I know you in so many ways
So lets go for a drink to ensure I can be forever

But what do you think about when it's dark out
After we say goodnight
I wonder

Oooooo your my fantasy
Oooooo you and me it could be
Your my fantasy

I know there's something on your mind
And it's bugged us for a long long time
Your miles off my case you have something to say but you shy away
Hey baby

What is on your mind in the daytime
Cause I'm hoping to see you tonight
And I'm wondering

Oooooo your my fantasy
Oooooo you and me it could be
Your my fantasy

Everytime I nearly get to be closer
Why do I feel this strange inclination
Is it just my imagination

Don't tell me I'm dreaming

I wanna say what I'm thinking about
I'm never sure what I'll find
But I wonder

Oooooo your my fantasy
Oooooo you and me it could be
Your my fantasy

I have you yes I do
Your my fantasy

Overall Meaning

The song "Fantasy" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is about the desire to take a friendship to the next level, but feeling hesitant about expressing those feelings. The lyrics show the singer's frustration and confusion as they try to decipher the mixed signals they are receiving from the object of their affections. They invite them to go for a drink, hoping to make a move and be with them forever. However, they are left wondering what the other person is really thinking, especially when it's dark out and after they say goodnight.

The chorus expresses the singer's desire for the other person, calling them their fantasy and hoping that something more could happen between them. The lyrics also reveal the singer's fear of rejection and uncertainty over whether their crush feels the same way. They want to speak their mind and express their feelings, but are unsure of what they will find out. The overall tone of the song is one of longing and hope, mixed with a bit of doubt and insecurity.

Line by Line Meaning

I've been friends with you for many days
I've known you for a long time

And I know you in so many ways
And I know you well

So lets go for a drink to ensure I can be forever
So let's have a drink to make sure we stay together forever

But what do you think about when it's dark out
But what are you thinking when it's nighttime

After we say goodnight
After we say goodbye for the night

I wonder
I'm curious

Oooooo your my fantasy
You're my dream

Oooooo you and me it could be
You and I could be together

Your my fantasy
You're the person I dream about

I know there's something on your mind
I know there's something you're thinking about

And it's bugged us for a long long time
And it's been bothering us for a very long time