"I LOVE ROCK N ROLL"
(Words and music - Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker)
Published by RAK-EMI Music Ltd.
Copyright - 1975
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I saw him dancin' there by the record machine
I knew he must have been about seventeen
The beat was going strong
Playing my favorite song
And I could tell it wouldn't be long
Til he was with me ( yeah me )
And I could tell it wouldn't be long
Til he was with me ( yeah me )
Singin'
I love rock n roll
So put another dime in the jukebox baby
I love rock n roll
So come on take your time and dance with me
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He smiled so I got up
And asked for his name
That don't matter he said
Cos it's all the same
I said can I take you home
Where we can be alone
Next we were moving on
And he was with me ( yeah me )
Next we were movin' on
And he was with me (yeah me)
Singin'
I love rock n roll
So put another dime in the jukebox baby
I love rock n roll
So come on take your time
And dance with me
Guitar break-
I said can I take you home
where we can be alone
Next we were movin' on
And he was with me ( yeah me )
And we were movin' on and singing that same old song
(yeah with me) Singin'
I love rock n roll
So put another dime in the Jukebox baby
I love rock n roll
So come on take your time
And dance with me
----------
The story continues- Rolling Stone magazine drops the ball on truth-
A major falsehood that occurred with significant press coverage, including a large featured article in Rolling Stone magazine, was a Wall Street style bond offer being put together for the title 'I Love Rock N Roll" by David Pullman. This was in September 1998. The stock option deal was purported to have involved the song's writers Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker, at least according to the Rolling Stone piece. In actual fact though, the publisher RAK (Mickie Most), and songwriter Alan Merrill both knew nothing about the "deal" until they, certainly astounded, read about it in Rolling Stone. Joan Jett's manager Kenny Laguna similarly was clueless about a Wall Street deal on the song, and was furious at the cartoon image of Joan Jett in Rolling Stone, who was depicted as crying her eyes out in front of a Wall Street building . This attempted deal was in reality solely the scheme of bonds trader David Pullman and the song's co-writer Jake Hooker, who only has a quarter share of the song to begin with. This is not the controlling publisher's share, which belongs to Mickie Most's RAK. Only RAK Music Publishing could deal the entire song for a stock option, and that was never open to consideration by RAK. Needless to say this "pie in the sky" deal did not transpire, contrary to popular rumour.
The erroneous article (below) appeared in the Rolling Stone magazine on Oct.1, 1998. The Eric Boehlert written story was a work of fiction worthy of a Stephen Glass award.
Ten years later and we're still waiting for the "I Love Rock N Roll movie" which was allegedly in "development." The fantasy continues.
Another bizarre rumour is that Joan Jett owns the rights to "I love rock 'n roll" and the song's publishing. This is often posted on her website forum by her fans, but it's simply not true. This myth is further fueled by Rolling Stone's Top 500 songs list, which supports this misleading information. The fact is that RAK music publishing have always owned the rights to the song. However, and this is where people get confused, Joan Jett does own the rights to her own performance of the song, which is on her own label (Blackheart records) so she gets paid a mechanical royalty for her own recordings of the song. She does not own any share in the publishing side of the song, so she does not own the rights to the song, and Ms. Jett makes no royalties on the many cover versions of the song over the years. 100% of the song's royalties go to RAK-EMI Music Ltd., and their subsidiaries.
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Back to reality and planet earth-
For the story of Joan Jett's "I love rock n roll" recording session and the evolution of her involvement with the song, click on the link below! This is a Mix Online magazine article written by Blair Jackson. It's factual and accurate except for the usual small bit of erroneous and misleading information about The Arrows, who to quote Mr. Jackson, "couldn't have envisioned the big, booming production treatment of the song" on Joan Jett's 1982 cover version. Anyone who has heard the Arrows mid 1970s "Tawny Tracks" album version would differ with that opinion.
In actual fact, the production of The Arrows version would have been Arrows producer (and music business legend) Mickie Most's responsibility, not the band's as indicated in the article. The band's reviews were great on the original release, they knew they had written a hit song, and their record company let them down by not promoting it. That's all been covered in more detail here, including the reasons why, on the previous page of this website.
The song turned Joan Jett into a rock n roll icon and legend. It elevated her to mainstream star status, and gave her a guaranteed long career life. She has lived up to her image in her recorded product, proving time and again that she truly loves the rock genre with a passion rarely matched. She's one of the most honest artists in the music business, staying on course and delivering songs with an energy and integrity that makes her great. She puts her individual artistic stamp on every song she does. The story of Joan Jett's success is a study in total commitment and dedication. She also knows a good song when she hears one. Her dogged determination to make "I love rock n roll" a hit is one of the most amazing stories in popular music history. From the moment she saw The Arrows performing the song on television in 1976, the future for Joan Jett would become the stuff of rock n roll dreams. In 1982 it all happened for her in a very explosive way, with a two month residency at the # 1 position in the US charts.
Apart from the usual tiny bit of Arrows misinformation, the article below by Blair Jackson is very good. Mr. Jackson is one of the world's leading Grateful Dead afficionados, having written extensively and thoroughly about the band. He's a respected rock music historian and chronicler, and the Joan Jett "I love rock 'n roll" Mix Online magazine piece is reasonably factual and therefore worthy of inclusion on this website.
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