Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ Was a Response to 1 Rolling Stones Song
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” is one of the most popular classic rock songs of the 1980s. One of the writers of “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” saw The Rolling Stones performing a song on television. Subsequently, he wrote a response.
Alan Merrill wrote a ‘knee-jerk response’ to 1 Rolling Stones song
Alan Merrill was a member of The Arrows, the band that originally recorded “I Love Rock ‘n Roll.” During a 2009 interview with Songfacts, Merrill discussed the origin of the track. “That was a knee-jerk response to The Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll [(But I Like It)],'” he recalled. “I remember watching it on Top of the Pops. I’d met Mick Jagger socially a few times, and I knew he was hanging around with Prince Rupert Lowenstein and people like that — jet setters.”
Merrill discussed his interpretation of “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It.)” “I almost felt like ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll’ was an apology to those jet-set princes and princesses that he was hanging around with — the aristocracy, you know,” he said. “That was my interpretation as a young man: ‘OK, I love rock ‘n’ roll.'”
Alan Merrill expected ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ to be a hit before Joan Jett & the Blackhearts recorded it
Merrill discussed what happened after he had the initial idea for the song. “And then, where do you go with that?” he said. “You have to write a three-chord song with a lick that people remember, and it has to build.”
Merrill had faith in the song. “So I had the chorus, which to me sounded like a hit,” Merrill recalled. “And I thought, I’ll do something really unusual. I’ll write it that this is a song separate from the verse.”
How The Rolling Stones’ ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)’ and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ performed commercially
In the United States, “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)” was a modest hit for The Rolling Stones. The track reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 10 weeks. The Rolling Stones included “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)” on the album It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll. The album peaked at No. 1 for one of its 20 weeks on the Billboard 200.
“I Love Rock ‘n Roll” was a much bigger hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and stayed on the chart for 20 weeks altogether. The track’s parent album, I Love Rock ‘n Roll, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 59 weeks in total.
“I Love Rock ‘n Roll” was a massive hit — and it has an interesting connection to The Rolling Stones.
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