I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock and roll song, written in 1975 by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of The Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later covered by Joan Jett and Britney Spears, who both had international chart success with their versions of the song.
Arrows version
| "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Broken Down Heart" (R. Ferris) |
The song was originally recorded and released by the Arrows in 1975 on RAK Records, with lead vocals by Alan Merrill and produced by Mickie Most. This version was first released as a B-side, but was soon re-recorded and flipped to A-side status on a subsequent pressing of the record. Although not a chart hit in its original version as a result of non-existent promotion by the band's label, the song has come to worldwide prominence due to very successful cover versions that have been recorded. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is on the list of top 100 songs of the twentieth century, according to The National Endowment for the Arts.
Joan Jett version
| "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Joan Jett saw the Arrows perform "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on their weekly television series The Arrows Show when she was touring England with The Runaways in 1976. She first recorded the song in 1979 with two of the Sex Pistols: Steve Jones and Paul Cook. This first version was not a hit. In 1982, Jett re-recorded the song, this time with her band, the Blackhearts, and this recording became a U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for seven weeks, effectively launching Jett's solo career and later reached number one in the Australian charts as well. Its success propelled Jett's I Love Rock 'n' Roll album to number two in the U.S.
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll"'s gritty, black-and-white music video received heavy play from the then-young MTV network. In it Jett and the Blackhearts travel to a small, dingy bar and proceed to excite the drunken crowd by performing the song and yelling out its famous chorus. Jett followed "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" up with another cover — her version of Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover" was a top-ten U.S. hit. The video was originally in color, but it was converted to black and white due to how Joan Jett felt how the red leather jacket looked in color.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed Jett's version of the song at number 85 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
Jett's version is also ranked #484 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
A cover version based on the 1982 recording with The Blackhearts was later recorded to appear in the Playstation 2 video game Guitar Hero.
Britney Spears version
| "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is the fourth European single released by dance-pop singer Britney Spears from the album Britney during the second quarter of 2002. The song was used in her 2002 movie Crossroads. Spears performs it in a karaoke bar.
Spears has publicly admitted the original song to be one of her favorites. Spears listened to The Arrows' original Mickie Most-produced version just before she recorded the song, according to her Jive A&R man Steve Lunt. When promoting the single's release she infamously attributed the hit version of the song to Pat Benatar instead of Jett, although she claims this was a remark made in sarcasm rather than a mistake.
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia[1] | Gold | 35,000 |
| United Kingdom | - | 51,000 |
Music video
Directed by Chris Applebaum, the music video for "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" features Spears in a tight-fitting leather getup. Straightforward, it features Spears jamming in a large red room, complete with her own band, a stack of speakers, and flashing lights. She crawls along on the floor, and plays air guitar before smashing the speakers with a real guitar. Spears also dances on a rotating motorcycle and gets covered with confetti.
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" became Spears' biggest commercial failure as the single failed to make the top ten in most countries. However, the track was not a total flop as it made at least top forty placement in most regions. "I Love Rock 'N Roll" was successful in the UK, where it peaked at number thirteen (which at the time was her "lowest"-charting single there, before the release of "Break The Ice", which peaked at number fifteen). The single sold a total of 51,000 copies.[2] A U.S. release was scheduled, but the plans were eventually scrapped.
Other cover versions
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is an often-covered song, and has been notably recorded by such artists as:
- Joe Piscopo
- Hayseed Dixie
- Five (sampled for "Everybody Get Up")
- Reverend Run sampled the song for his song "Mind on the Road" on his solo project Distortion.
- Ghoti Hook
- Dragon Ash (as "I Love Hip Hop")
- "Weird Al" Yankovic (parody, as "I Love Rocky Road")
- Griva (as "I law Myroslaw")
- The Dresden Dolls
- 1995 - Guildo Horn und Die Orthopädischen Strümpfe - Ich find Schlager toll (German Version)
- Former Premier of Victoria Joan Kirner covered Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", accompanied on guitar by her former health minister David White who actually did play the guitar, for a spoof segment on The Late Show.
- This song was not covered by AC/DC despite the claims of some P2P networks.
- DJ and noted music promoter Steve Oliver, presenter of 'The Pod', collects cover versions of the song. He blogs and bulletins on this subject on his myspace page.
- Los Berzas, in a parody called "Yo Amo El Jamón" (I Love Jamón.)
- Lee Da Hae Korean actress performed the song at the Korean Music Awards 2007.
- Sung by Vietnamese singers Siu Black and Phuong Vy as part of Vietnam's entry to Asian Idol in 2007.
- Miley Cyrus sang this song in 2005 for an audition tape for her TV show Hannah Montana.
Charts
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts version
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 31 |
| UK Singles Chart | 8 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 1[3] |
Britney Spears version
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" became the first Britney song that has charted on the European Singles Chart chart (the chart archive only goes back to 2002 though it has existed longer).
| Chart (2002)[4] | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| United World Chart | 37 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 13 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 21 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 33 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 17 |
| European Singles Chart | 21 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 19 |
| German Singles Chart | 7 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 8 |
| Israeli Singles Chart | 11 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 20 |
| 'Tokyo Hot 100' | 47 |
| Portuguese Airplay Chart | 4 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 15 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 15 |
| UK Singles Chart | 13 |
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (Britney Spears Version)
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UK CD single
Europe CD single
Europe 2-Track CD single
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Australia CD single
Japan CD single
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Mixes
Notes
External links
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