Joan Jett
"I grew up in a world that told girls they couldn't play rock 'n' roll." - Joan Jett
Joan Marie Larkin was born on September 22, 1958, in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania. Her interest in music started around the age of 13 when she got her first guitar. Growing up in a religious-based home, Larkin’s guitar teacher taught her more religious-based or folk songs. She quit after only a few lessons and took on a more hard-edged glam rock sound that would define her career (Thank God for that..pun most definitely intended).
Joan Jett moved to West California and in the late 1970s, she and drummer Sandy West founded The Runaways. The band was a huge success with multiple hit songs including “Cherry Bomb” which was a crowd favorite. Jett and her band opened for rock L E G E N D S suck as Cheap Trick, Ramones, Van Halen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
While touring with The Runaways, Joan Jett began writing her own songs. The band would play them at concerts, but unfortunately, The Runaways split in 1979.
Luckily for Jett, a good future awaited. And around 1980 the Black Hearts were formed. Jett went very old-school by putting an ad in the paper calling for three men who were interested in joining her new band. Jett and her longtime friend/music producer Kenny Laguna picked Gary Ryan (who took on the stage name Gary Moss because that’s just way cooler...also was FIFTEEN at the time), Eric Ambel, and Danny “Furious” O’Brien.
O’Brien ended up getting let go after a few shows and was replaced with Lee Crystal for drums. And that’s just the beginning of the band rotating musicians. Jett was always doing what was best for her band.
The group gained a fan following slowly, but when they released their first single "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", in 1982, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in a row.
In addition to “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” one of my favorite Joan Jett songs is “Bad Reputation” which served as the theme song for “Freaks and Geek” (1999)
Joan Jett went on to be an absolute rock powerhouse, creating hit after hit and creating a fan base for anyone who loved rock music (including my dad)
My dad told me a story when she played a concert in Eerie, Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s. Apparently, someone in the audience threw a beer can on the stage and she threatened to leave if it happened again.
Note to self: Don’t mess with Joan Jett.
One last cool fact about Joan Jett is that she never publicly outed her sexuality. It wasn’t until 2018 in an interview about her documentary not being shown at the LGBTQ+ Film Festival she said
“They don’t want the movie there because I don’t declare? [Holding up her necklace] What the [expletive] is that? Two labryses, or axes, crossing each other, inside of two women’s symbols crossing each other. It’s not been off since I got it. And I wear this one every day. [She turns around, lifts her shirt, and reveals a tattoo with similar female symbols on her lower back.] I don’t know how much more you can declare." - Joan Jett
A reminder to my LGBTQ+ readers, you don’t have to always have to explain yourself to everyone. It’s their loss if they don’t understand.
Pat Benatar
“The soul of touring and the heart of it is basically every day is like putting up a circus tent.”
- Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar was born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, Benetar began participating in theatre and performance at 8 years. She was extremely active in theatre in high school playing various roles and singing any chance she got.
Benatar trained as a coloratura with plans to attend the Juilliard School, but decided instead to pursue health education at Stony Brook University, but dropped after just one year. She married her high school sweetheart, Dennis Benetar, and the two moved to Virginia because he was stationed at Fort Lee.
Feeling unfulfilled, Pat Benetar decided to kick start her singing career after seeing Minnelli at a concert. She became a waitress at a popular night club where she met her soon-to-be bassist Roger Capps.
In 1975, Benatar performed at an amateur night at the comedy club Catch a Rising Star in New York. Her rendition of Judy Garland's "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody" earned her a callback by club owner Rick Newman, who then became her manager. With her husband being detached from Fort Lee, the Benetars moved to New York where Pat became a regular performer at Catch a Rising Star for three years.
Benetar went on to soar in her singing career, recording the new Pepsi jingle and getting more exposure, but unfortunately, her marriage with Dennis Benetar ended in 1979 after 8 years of marriage.
In August 1980, Benatar released her LP, Crimes of Passion, featuring her signature song "Hit Me with Your Best Shot"
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was Pat Bentar’s first single to break the US Top 10 and sold more than one million copies in the United States.
The album peaked for five consecutive weeks at #2 in the US in January 1981 (behind John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy) and a month later, Benatar won her first Grammy Award for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" of 1980 for the album.
By 1983, Benatar had established a reputation for singing about "tough" subject matters, best exemplified by one of the biggest hits of her career, "Love Is a Battlefield"
"Love Is a Battlefield" aired on MTV and featured Benatar doing a Michael Jackson-inspired group dance number. This new pop/rock direction was a huge commercial success. Benatar won her fourth consecutive Grammy Award for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" because of the song.
In more recent years, Pat Benatar recorded the song "Shine" to support the Women's March in January 2017.
Madonna
“I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.”
-Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan.
Born into a very traditional Catholic family, Madonna lived a very conservative lifestyle laid out by her parents. After her mother passed away from breast cancer in 1966, the Ciccone children pushed their boundaries a little more.
Despite her rebellious attitude, Madonna was known for always having a high GPA and was heavily involved in extracurricular activities. She earned a scholarship to the University of Michigan for dance. After only a year in school, she dropped out and moved to New York with only $35 to her name. She picked up a gig as a backup dancer and singer for disco artist Patrick Hernadez. The two became romantically involved living in an abandoned synagogue and formed a rock band called the Breakfast Club, with Madonna as the lead.
The band didn’t last long because Madonna sought an opportunity to start a solo career. Her first singles “Everybody”, “Burning Up”, "Borderline", and “Holiday” were more
disco and club-oriented.
Madonna's popularity continued to rise globally with the release of her second studio album, Like a Virgin, in November 1984. It became her first number-one album in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and the US.
Like a Virgin became the first album by a female to sell over five million copies in the U.S.
Madonna's signature style became an 80s staple, influencing a lot of young girls and women. Her designer Maripol, constructed the look using a combination of lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the crucifix, bracelets, and bleached hair.
Madonna was never known to keep things constant. Her looks and music changed with every album she produced.
Madonna (1978) -
Live a Virgin (1984)- Popular Song(s): “Like a Virgin” "Material Girl"
True Blue (1986) - Popular Song(s): “Papa Don’t Preach”
Like A Prayer (1989) - Popular Song(s): “Like a Prayer”, “Express Yourself”
Blond Ambition Tour (1990) -
Music (2000) - Popular Song(s): “Music”
Hard Candy (2008) -Popular Song(s): “4 Minutes” “Give it 2 Me”
MDNA (2012) - Popular Song(s): “Give Me All Your Lovin”
Rebel Heart (2015) - Popular Song(s): “Living for Love”
Madam X (2019) - "Dark Ballet"
It’s no secret that Madonna had all the confidence in the world. She knows who she is and what she’s capable of. Madonna has inspired a plethora of female artists including Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne, and tons more!
"How could I be anything else but what I am having been named Madonna? I would either have ended up a nun or this." -Madonna
Madonna is often referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she is regarded as one of the most influential figures in popular culture.
Next week we will be focusing on two female artists from the 1990s.
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