Then: Jett was a founding member of the band The Runaways, which formed in 1974 when Jett was just 16. She played rhythm guitar and sang, mostly backing vocals, but she did have the lead on a few songs. The band found success in the late 70’s, becoming an opening act for bands like Cheap Trick, The Ramones, Van Halen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The group released five studio albums before disbanding in 1979, which is when Joan decided to pursue a solo career.
Now: Jett, along with the Blackhearts, was scheduled to join Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard on the 2020 The Stadium Tour as an opening act along with Poison. However, the tour was postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021 it was announced that tour was again postponed and would now happen in the summer of 2022. On May 14, 2021, it was announced that to celebrate the 40th anniversaries of Jett’s first two albums, Bad Reputation and I Love Rock & Roll, Z2 Comics was releasing two graphic novels titled Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – 40×40: Bad Reputation/I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll that will bring Jett’s “songs to life as 20 vivid stories” by female writers and artists in the comic book industry. The books were released in November 2021. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released Changeup on March 25, 2022, the first acoustic album ever recorded by the band, featuring “Bad Reputation” and “Crimson and Clover”.
