This is so well written. Despite the many times I've heard it, I've somehow never paid enough attention to "Crimson and Clover" to hear that it's obviously a queer song when Joan Jett sings it. That's what happens, I guess, when a song is a hit during one's childhood. Thanks for the jolt of new awareness!
“Don’t be lazy — read the lyrics and figure it out for yourself.” You tell them, Joan!
I was entranced any time I saw one of her music videos on MTV in the ‘80s. The swagger, the confidence — she carried herself like a mythological goddess who could conjure spells with her eyes. Thanks so much for this deep
I first discovered this song with the movie Monster (which I strongly recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it). Thanks for bringing back so many nice memories!
I echo Mark's first 5 words, Jami! On The Runaways from Day 1, I find it deliciously ironic (in the clear light of decades in the rear-view) that the gals were marketed as little more than straight-boy (and members of the rock press) fantasies, pulled together by the notorious Kim Fowley, who had always been assumed to be exercising all sorts of lechery in each member's direction! I met Kim in front of the Roxy in summer '79 (moments after bumping into Rodney Bingenheimer.....It was like an issue of "Hit Parader" come to life)! If I had known then what I know now, the questions I would have peppered each with!!😂
I wonder if anyone had asked Paul Nelson's POV (before his '06 passing) on The Runaways signing and/or the conference room meetings that ensued? He was in Mercury's A&R dept. '70 to '75, and he may have split just before The Runaways' debut. But, short of asking someone in their PR dept at the time, HIS perspective (as a former rock scribe) would've been (possibly) revealing in one way or another (the age thing, the tip-toeing around revealing ad campaigns, etc)!
Joan, to me, was always a tuff chick rocker, and together with Chrissie Hynde (a few years later), could've chewed up the likes of, say, Debbie Harry, with their hands tied behind their backs! It's cool to hear how aware and fascinated Joan was about how the press/her fans perceived her. Her Blackheart Band (being all boys) would be an interesting debate:
Did she play into the "guys can rock" stereotype, or, might she have been more productive and inclusive had she hired a gal or two? I respect her, frankly, for being so PR-savvy, she just hired who she wanted, JUST LIKE ANY GUY WOULD'VE DONE! It would've been so easy to cave to what could be perceived as "public pressure," and again, have a band of all gals, but to fashion her new solo band, it almost made that much more sense to flip the player script so as to differentiate from The Runaways. Bottom line, she just did what she wanted!✔
BTW, a 27-year-old Australian, SayGrace, released (as a tribute to the recently-deceased Lesley Gore) in 2015, her cover of "You Don't Own Me," co-produced by Quincy! I've always revered Q for producing Gore's hits in the '60s, while also having such a wildly-successful hand in Michael Jackson's '80s recording career!
Thanks Jami, too, for featuring my Dead Boys article! A fun one to live through, and almost as fun writing about!
I like "This is the MTV moment that made any woman watching at home check their pulse and run a diagnostic on their sexuality. “Am I into girls now? Or just Joan Jett?”
Reminds me of the first time I saw Chrissie Hynde.
Joan Jett is a babe. I completely understand her stance. It's not like straight artists re ever asked to speak to or qualify their straightness. Her queer sexuality should not be, and isn't, the most interesting thing about her as an artist. This was a wonderful and thought provoking read as always.
This is so well written. Despite the many times I've heard it, I've somehow never paid enough attention to "Crimson and Clover" to hear that it's obviously a queer song when Joan Jett sings it. That's what happens, I guess, when a song is a hit during one's childhood. Thanks for the jolt of new awareness!
This was awesome. TIL that Joan Jett covered "You Don't own Me." How did I miss that?!
“Don’t be lazy — read the lyrics and figure it out for yourself.” You tell them, Joan!
I was entranced any time I saw one of her music videos on MTV in the ‘80s. The swagger, the confidence — she carried herself like a mythological goddess who could conjure spells with her eyes. Thanks so much for this deep
dive on her!
I first discovered this song with the movie Monster (which I strongly recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it). Thanks for bringing back so many nice memories!
I echo Mark's first 5 words, Jami! On The Runaways from Day 1, I find it deliciously ironic (in the clear light of decades in the rear-view) that the gals were marketed as little more than straight-boy (and members of the rock press) fantasies, pulled together by the notorious Kim Fowley, who had always been assumed to be exercising all sorts of lechery in each member's direction! I met Kim in front of the Roxy in summer '79 (moments after bumping into Rodney Bingenheimer.....It was like an issue of "Hit Parader" come to life)! If I had known then what I know now, the questions I would have peppered each with!!😂
I wonder if anyone had asked Paul Nelson's POV (before his '06 passing) on The Runaways signing and/or the conference room meetings that ensued? He was in Mercury's A&R dept. '70 to '75, and he may have split just before The Runaways' debut. But, short of asking someone in their PR dept at the time, HIS perspective (as a former rock scribe) would've been (possibly) revealing in one way or another (the age thing, the tip-toeing around revealing ad campaigns, etc)!
Joan, to me, was always a tuff chick rocker, and together with Chrissie Hynde (a few years later), could've chewed up the likes of, say, Debbie Harry, with their hands tied behind their backs! It's cool to hear how aware and fascinated Joan was about how the press/her fans perceived her. Her Blackheart Band (being all boys) would be an interesting debate:
Did she play into the "guys can rock" stereotype, or, might she have been more productive and inclusive had she hired a gal or two? I respect her, frankly, for being so PR-savvy, she just hired who she wanted, JUST LIKE ANY GUY WOULD'VE DONE! It would've been so easy to cave to what could be perceived as "public pressure," and again, have a band of all gals, but to fashion her new solo band, it almost made that much more sense to flip the player script so as to differentiate from The Runaways. Bottom line, she just did what she wanted!✔
BTW, a 27-year-old Australian, SayGrace, released (as a tribute to the recently-deceased Lesley Gore) in 2015, her cover of "You Don't Own Me," co-produced by Quincy! I've always revered Q for producing Gore's hits in the '60s, while also having such a wildly-successful hand in Michael Jackson's '80s recording career!
Thanks Jami, too, for featuring my Dead Boys article! A fun one to live through, and almost as fun writing about!
I like "This is the MTV moment that made any woman watching at home check their pulse and run a diagnostic on their sexuality. “Am I into girls now? Or just Joan Jett?”
Reminds me of the first time I saw Chrissie Hynde.
Joan Jett is a babe. I completely understand her stance. It's not like straight artists re ever asked to speak to or qualify their straightness. Her queer sexuality should not be, and isn't, the most interesting thing about her as an artist. This was a wonderful and thought provoking read as always.
Love the little quiz at the end of the post. Great writing!
Super! Loved reading this x