Joan Jett & The Blackhearts “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” released on this date, November 18th, 1981. This worn and well-loved LP was the first record I ever bought with my own money when I was 10 years old and I still love it (and since it’s an original pressing, it has the track “Little Drummer Boy” included as the record was released for the holiday shopping season. I don’t like that Christmas song but Jett’s version is tolerable). Hard pop rock inspired by the late 50′s/early 60′s classic rock-n-roll sound, Jett’s second solo studio album (and her first with the backing band The Blackhearts) was a massive hit, hitting #2 in the US and #25 in the UK. The title track “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” was the first single from the album; originally recorded by the Arrows in 1975, Jett’s version went to #1 in the US and #4 in the UK. But the single and the version on I Love Rock ‘n Roll wasn’t her original take – she first recorded it with Steve Jones and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols in ‘79 as the b-side to “You Don’t Own Me” (which appears on her first solo LP Bad Reputation). Jett also released “Crimson and Clover” as a single, another cover song (by Tommy James & The Shondells), which hit #7 in the US and #60 in the UK. Jett’s version is so great, adding in a hard rocking beat to balance the sweetness of the original. Other notable covers that Jett recorded for I Love Rock ‘n Roll are “Bits and Pieces” originally by The Dave Clark Five, “Nag” by The Halos and “You’re Too Possessive” (she basically covers herself: it was on The Runaways’ album Waitin’ For the Night from 1977). The album isn’t all covers, though – I really love Jett’s “Love is Pain” and the Bo Diddley-inspired “Be Straight.”