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
Secret Love
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That lived within the heart of me
All too soon my secret love,
Became impatient to be free
So I told a friendly star,
The way that dreamers often do
Just how wonderful you are,
Now, I shout it from the highest hills
Even told the golden daffodils
At last my hearts an open door,
And my secret love's
No secret anymore.
The lyrics to "Secret Love" by Joan Jett are about a person who has kept their love for someone else a secret for some time. However, this love has grown to the point where it can no longer be contained, and the individual must reveal it to the world. They confide in a "friendly star" and describe the person they love as wonderful and the reason they are so in love with them. Eventually, this once-secret love is shouted from the top of hills and is told even to the golden daffodils. The individual declares that their heart is an open door, and their secret love is no longer a secret.
The song is a powerful proclamation of love, and the lyrics are an expression of the depth of emotion that the individual feels. The use of natural elements such as stars and daffodils underscores the purity and naturalness of this love. The song celebrates the beauty of honesty and openness, as the individual finds liberation in being true to themselves and their emotions. The soaring vocals and upbeat melody of the song perfectly capture the joy and excitement of newfound love and the freeing feeling of breaking free from the constraints of secrecy.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I had a secret love,
There was a time when I held a secret love in my heart,
That lived within the heart of me
It was something that I kept deep inside and didn't share with anyone
All too soon my secret love,
But before long, my hidden love
Became impatient to be free
Started to yearn for release and longed to be known
So I told a friendly star,
So I confided in a star that I felt familiar with,
The way that dreamers often do
Just like many dreamers do when they want to share something heartfelt
Just how wonderful you are,
I expressed how amazing you are,
And why I'm so in love with you
And what it is that makes me so completely in love with you
Now, I shout it from the highest hills
And now I'm screaming it from the top of mountains,
Even told the golden daffodils
Even told the flowers around me how I feel,
At last my hearts an open door,
Finally, my heart is open to the word,
And my secret love's
And my hidden love is
No secret anymore.
No longer a secret that I keep inside of me.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PAUL FRANCIS WEBSTER, SAMMY FAIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind