I Love Rock ’n’ Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

I Love Rock 'n Roll, Joan Jett's second album and her first with the Blackhearts, was cut in the summer of 1981 and hit the racks that November on Boardwalk. Kenny Laguna, her producer and partner in the band from the start, was on board, and early in the sessions at Soundworks Studios original guitarist Eric Ambel made way for Ricky Byrd.

This is hard rock stripped to leather and chrome: three chords, a stomping beat and Jett's tough, knowing snarl, with no fat anywhere. The title track, which followed the LP out as a single, is the fist-pumping anthem that made her, and "Crimson and Clover" gets a slow, heavy, smoldering makeover. The album sold over a million copies, the most of anything she's ever put out, and it's mostly down to that title song.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.