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Joan Jett is one of rock & roll's most enduring frontwomen, celebrated for her platinum-certified solo work as well as her career-launching stint in The Runaways. She was born in the Philadelphia suburb of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, on September 22, 1958. The family later moved to California, where she replaced her birth name of "Joan Marie Larkin" with the stage name "Joan Jett." At 16 years old, she co-founded The Runaways with Sandy West remained with the group until 1979, co-writing their signature hit "Cherry Bomb" along the way. Following the group's breakup, she launched her solo career with 1980's self-titled Joan Jett, which was reissued in 1981 under the revised title Bad Reputation. The title track went gold in both America and Japan, but its success paled in comparison to Jett's follow-up hit, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," which peaked at Number 1 in America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Sweden in 1982. The song also served as the title track to I Love Rock 'n' Roll, her second solo album and the first to feature her backing band, The Blackhearts. Also featuring Jett's cover of the Tommy James staple "Crimson and Clover," which peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, I Love Rock 'n' Roll quickly went platinum. 1983's Album went gold on the strength of the Top 40 singles "Everyday People" and "Fake Friends," and Jett regained her platinum status with 1988's Up Your Alley, which featured the Top 10 hit "I Hate Myself for Loving You." Although she never cracked the Top 10 again, Jett continued to release albums during the following three decades, reaching Number 47 on the Billboard 200 with 2013's Unvarnished and exploring more acoustic-based textures with her 2022 release, Changeup.
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