I Love Rock 'n' Roll

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock and roll song, written in 1975 by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of The Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later covered by Joan Jett and Britney Spears, who both had international chart success with their versions of the song.

Arrows version

Infobox Single
Name = I Love Rock 'n' Roll
Artist = The Arrows
from Album =
Released = 1975
Format = 7" single
B-side = "Broken Down Heart" (R. Ferris)
Recorded = 1975
Genre = Rock
Length =
Label = RAK Records
Writer = Alan Merrill, Jake Hooker
Producer = Mickie Most
Certification =
Last single = "Hard Hearted" (1975)
This single = "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (1975)
Next single = "Once Upon a Time" (1976)

The song was originally recorded and released by the Arrows in 1975 on RAK Records, with lead vocals by Alan Merrill and produced by Mickie Most. This version was first released as a B-side, but was soon re-recorded and flipped to A-side status on a subsequent pressing of the record. Although not a chart hit in its original version as a result of non-existent promotion by the band's label, the song has come to worldwide prominence due to very successful cover versions that have been recorded. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is on the list of top 100 songs of the twentieth century, according to The National Endowment for the Arts.

Joan Jett version

Infobox Single
Name = I Love Rock 'n' Roll


Artist = Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
from Album = I Love Rock 'n' Roll
Released = February 5, 1982
Format = 7" single, 12" single
Recorded = 1979, 1982
Genre = Rock, Hard rock
Length = 2:52
Label = Boardwalk Records
Writer = Alan Merrill, Jake Hooker
Producer = Richie Cordell, Kenny Laguna
Certification = Platinum
Reviews =
Last single = "Little Drummer Boy" (1981)
This single = "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (1982)
Next single = "Crimson and Clover" (1982)

Joan Jett saw the Arrows perform "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on their weekly television series "The Arrows Show" when she was touring England with The Runaways in 1976. She first recorded the song in 1979 with two of the Sex Pistols: Steve Jones and Paul Cook. This first version was not a hit. In 1982, Jett re-recorded the song, this time with her band, the Blackhearts, and this recording became a U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for seven weeks, effectively launching Jett's solo career and later reached number one in the Australian charts as well. Its success propelled Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" album to number two in the U.S.

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll"'s gritty, black-and-white music video received heavy play from the then-young MTV network. In it Jett and the Blackhearts travel to a small, dingy bar and proceed to excite the drunken crowd by performing the song and yelling out its famous chorus. Jett followed "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" up with another cover — her version of Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover" was a top-ten U.S. hit. The video was originally in color, but it was converted to black and white due to the way Joan Jett felt her red leather jacket looked in color.

In March 2005, "Q" magazine placed Jett's version of the song at number 85 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

Jett's version is also ranked #484 on the "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Jett's version also scored a #56 ranking in "Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time." [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-60.shtml]

A cover version based on the 1982 recording with The Blackhearts was later recorded to appear in the Playstation 2 video game "Guitar Hero".

The song appears in the game Karaoke Revolution Party.

Britney Spears version

Infobox Single
Name = I Love Rock 'n' Roll


Artist = Britney Spears
from Album = Britney
B-side =
Released = flagicon|Australia June 1, 2002 flagicon|UK November 4, 2002
Format = CD
Recorded = 2001
Genre = Pop rock, teen pop
Length = 3:06
Label = Jive
Writer = Alan Merrill, Jake Hooker
Producer = Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins
Certification = Gold (Australia)
Chronology = Britney Spears UK/Australian singles
Last single = "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" (2001)
This single = "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (2002)
Next single = "Anticipating" (2002)

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is the fourth European single released by dance-pop singer Britney Spears from the album "Britney" during the second quarter of 2002. The song was used in her 2002 movie "Crossroads". Spears's character, Lucy, performs it in a karaoke bar. Spears said of the song, " They asked me to sing karaoke in the movie "Crossroads" and I've actually sung I Love Rock 'n' Roll in a lot of clubs that I've been to." [Citation
last=Dingwall
first=John
author-link=
title=OTR..Off the Record: Your Time Is Up, Jacko; Britney Wants Album Top Slot
newspaper=Daily Record
publication-place=Scotland
volume=
issue=
date=November 5, 2001
year=2001
month=November
page=19
url= ]

Spears has publicly admitted the original song to be one of her favorites. Spears listened to The Arrows' original Mickie Most-produced version just before she recorded the song, according to her Jive A&R man Steve Lunt. When promoting the single's release she infamously attributed the hit version of the song to Pat Benatar instead of Jett, although she claims this was a remark made in sarcasm rather than a mistake.

Certifications

Britney Spears version

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" became the first Britney song that has charted on the European Singles Chart chart (the chart archive only goes back to 2002 though it has existed longer).

Notes

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/lil_rocker_roller History of the song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"]
* [http://www.merseybeat.co.uk/articles-details.php?cat=Classic+Songs&id=196 Bill Harry's Merseybeat article]