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

Torture
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Joan Jett/Jim Vallance/Kenny Laguna)

Maybe I was lonely or a little bit crazy
Weird interaction excited me so
I could see the danger made it more intriguing
I was bound for touble when I let myself go, yeah

What kind of fool would keep hangin' around

While you treat me this way

Torture - me n' you it's
Torture - what we do is
Torture - yeah it's true an'
It hurts so bad but I love it, yeah

I was just a tumble went a little too far
The fun an' games were getting outta control
Took it to the limit now there's no escapin'
This deviation has taken its toll, ow

Torture - we can't hide this
Torture - my hads are tied it's
Torture - I'll survive but
It hurts so bad an' I love it yeah

I been up against the wall so long
And the bonds that hold me here are strong
Yeah it hurts but this is where I belong

Torture - me n' you it's
Torture - what we do is

Torture - yeah it's true an'
It hurts so bad but I love it, yeah

Overall Meaning

The song "Torture" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is a song about a tumultuous and possibly dangerous relationship. The singer of the song seems to be aware of the risks involved with being with this person but can't help but be drawn to the excitement and danger that comes with it. The opening lines suggest that the singer may have been feeling lonely or a little bit crazy when they got involved with this person. They knew the danger that awaited them, but the thrill of it all made it even more intriguing. Despite the way they're being treated, the singer can't help but stick around, even as their sense of self-worth diminishes.

Throughout the song, the lyrics reference the idea of bondage and being tied up, both literally and metaphorically. Lines like "my hands are tied" and "the bonds that hold me here are strong" suggest that the singer feels stuck in this toxic relationship and can't seem to break free. They're aware that what they're experiencing is torture, but they're also aware that they love it and can't seem to leave.

Overall, "Torture" is a commentary on the complexities of certain relationships: the ones that are dangerous, but also exhilarating; the ones that can bring us pain, but also pleasure.

Line by Line Meaning

Maybe I was lonely or a little bit crazy
I may have lacked companionship or sound judgement

Weird interaction excited me so
Abnormal experiences stimulated me greatly

I could see the danger made it more intriguing
I acknowledged the hazards but found it more interesting

I was bound for touble when I let myself go, yeah
I predictably led myself into misfortune when I loosened up

What kind of fool would keep hangin' around
What type of idiot would persist after being treated wrongly

While you treat me this way
While you show disrespect towards me

I was just a tumble went a little too far
I was only looking for a brief adventure but went further than anticipated

The fun an' games were getting outta control
The light-hearted activity was becoming uncontrollable

Took it to the limit now there's no escapin'
I pushed it too far to the point where escape is impossible

This deviation has taken its toll, ow
This divergence has caused damage, oh!

Torture - we can't hide this
Anguish - we cannot conceal this