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

Friend To Friend
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Lyrics

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Fake Friends Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (Jett-Laguna) When you were down they were never there All the sycophants they love to make romance When you're all alone you really get to learn If you get back up they gonna come around To the ugly sound of 'em tellin' you what you 'cause they all agree you're supposed to have a better life Wanna hear an' you pretend But you're feelin' worse An' they build you up till you fool yourself that you're Something else an' it's like a curse cause An' they tell you that you're losin' friends You can't live up to what they made of you Losin' friends, losin' friends Ya don't lose when you lose fake friends Ya got nothin to lose Ya go an tell 'em you were king of the hill Ya see 'em laugh while you're on your knees An' ya can't believe that ya hit the gound an' When ya need a hand - that was yesterday An' it breaks your heart 'cause ya gave so much Ya notice ya been losin' friends Losin' friends, losin' friends Ya don't lose when you lose fake friends Ya got nothin to lose From: Oscar Hernando Rodriguez

Overall Meaning

The song "Fake Friends" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is a powerful anthem that denounces the concept of fake friendship. The lyrics directly address the pain and disillusionment that comes with realizing that those who you thought were your friends are not genuine.

In the first verse, Jett voices the feelings of abandonment and betrayal that can come when someone is in a challenging situation and their supposed friends are nowhere to be found. The second verse emphasizes the fact that people around you may flatter you and pretend to be supportive, but sometimes they are just waiting for you to fail so they can turn their backs on you. The chorus declares that losing fake friends is not a loss at all because you have nothing to lose.

The bridge highlights the emotional impact of losing people whom you thought were close, and the final verse encourages the listener to stand up and tell the fake friends that they were once the king or queen of the hill, even if they are currently down. Ultimately, the message of the song is that true friends will be there through the good and the bad, and to lose fake friends is no loss at all.

Line by Line Meaning

When you were down they were never there
Your so-called friends only stick around when you are doing well and abandon you during tough times.

All the sycophants they love to make romance
These fake friends love to flatter and cozy up to you to gain your favor and benefit from your success.

When you're all alone you really get to learn
Being alone allows you to see who truly cares about you and who is just pretending to be your friend for their own gain.

If you get back up they gonna come around
These fake friends will come back around if they see that you are successful again, hoping to once again benefit from your success.

To the ugly sound of 'em tellin' you what you 'cause they all agree you're supposed to have a better life
These fake friends will tell you what they think you want to hear, all while reinforcing unrealistic expectations for your life.

Wanna hear an' you pretend
You want to believe their lies and pretend everything is okay, even though deep down you know it's not.

But you're feelin' worse
Their lies and flattery only make you feel worse about yourself in the long run.

An' they build you up till you fool yourself that you're Something else an' it's like a curse cause
These fake friends will flatter you to the point where you start to believe in your own hype, but this false sense of self will only lead to disappointment and failure.

An' they tell you that you're losin' friends
These fake friends will try to make you feel guilty for not living up to their expectations and will threaten to abandon you if you don't do what they want.

You can't live up to what they made of you
These fake friends have unrealistic expectations for you that you cannot possibly live up to.

Losin' friends, losin' friends
You are losing these fake friends, but in reality, you have nothing to lose.

Ya don't lose when you lose fake friends
Losing these fake friends is actually a good thing, as they were only holding you back from true success and happiness.

Ya got nothin to lose
You have nothing to lose by cutting these fake friends out of your life and focusing on true relationships.

Ya go an tell 'em you were king of the hill
You can confidently tell these fake friends that you are successful and happy without them, proving that you don't need their false support and flattery.

Ya see 'em laugh while you're on your knees
These fake friends will laugh at your failures and weaknesses, reveling in your downfall and proving their true colors.

An' ya can't believe that ya hit the gound
It can be hard to believe that these supposed friends would turn on you so easily and quickly, but it's time to face the truth.

An' When ya need a hand - that was yesterday
These fake friends will not be there for you when you truly need them, as they only care about themselves and their own success.

An' it breaks your heart 'cause ya gave so much
It can be heartbreaking to realize that you invested so much time and energy into these fake friendships, only to be let down in the end.

Ya notice ya been losin' friends
You may feel like you are losing friends, but in reality, you are just weeding out the fake ones and making room for true, genuine relationships.

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: JOAN JETT, KENNETH BENJAMIN LAGUNA

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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