"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of the band Arrows. Arrows were a glam rock band in the United Kingdom active from 1974 to 1977. They would have two hits, "Touch Too Much" in 1974 and "My Last Night with You" in 1975. They also had their own television show, Arrows, which aired in 1976 and 1977 on Granada Television.
The inspiration for "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" came from The Rolling Stones' song "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)." Alan Merrill later said in an interview, "The Stones had just released ‘It’s Only Rock ’n Roll,’ which sounded a bit apologetic to me. I wanted to say it loud and clear." "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was originally recorded as the B-side of their single, "Broken Down Heart," but was made the A-side. Strangely enough, given the success of Joan Jett's cover of the song, Arrows' original version of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" did make the UK singles chart.
It was while Joan Jett was on a tour of the United Kingdom with The Runaways that she saw Arrows perform"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on their television show. In 1979 she recorded her first version of the song with Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook as a B-side of her cover of "You Don't Own Me." It was in 1981 that she recorded a new version of the song with her band The Blackhearts. It hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for seven weeks.
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