In 1981, an album that record labels repeatedly rejected arrived with little indication that it would soon produce one of the biggest rock hits of the decade.
Forty-five years later, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ I Love Rock ‘n Roll is getting some new recognition.
Barnes & Noble has selected I Love Rock ‘n Roll as one of its Albums of the Month for September 2026, part of the bookseller’s monthly spotlight on new releases and older favorites. The retailer describes the album as a “bold-unapologetic blast of guitar-driven rock” and is also offering an exclusive 45th anniversary edition on transparent red vinyl with an alternate cover.
The honor comes decades after Jett and her collaborators struggled to persuade anyone in the music business that they had a hit on their hands.
Joan Jett Couldn’t Get Record Labels to Say Yes to ‘I Love Rock ’n Roll’
Jett first encountered “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” years before recording the version that made her a star. According to music historian Fred Bronson’s “The Billboard Book of Number One Hits,” she saw the Arrows perform the song on television while touring England with the Runaways.
Jett was so taken with it that she contacted co-writer Jake Hooker about recording it. The Runaways, however, didn’t share her enthusiasm, and Jett couldn’t convince the group to cut the song.
After the Runaways broke up, Jett recorded an early version with former Sex Pistols members Steve Jones and Paul Cook, but it was released only as a B-side in Holland. She later recorded it again after forming the Blackhearts.
Getting that music released presented another problem.
In “The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made,” critic Dave Marsh wrote that Jett’s recording of “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” and the accompanying album were rejected by every major record label and the significant minor labels as well. Eventually, manager and producer Kenny Laguna put the record out himself.
How ‘I Love Rock ’n Roll’ Became a No. 1 Smash
Released in late 1981, I Love Rock ‘n Roll became Jett’s most commercially successful album. In addition to its title track, the record included her remake of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crimson and Clover,” which became another Top 10 hit.
“I Love Rock ‘n Roll” reached No. 1 in March 1982 and stayed there for seven weeks. Bronson recounts that Hooker knew almost immediately that Jett had finally found the right version, telling him, “I had no doubts. I knew it was going to be number one.”
Jett herself was still marveling at the song’s success years later.
“I’m really proud that ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ went to number one,” she told BAM’s Julie Panebianco in 1984, according to Bronson.
Four and a half decades after an industry full of record labels passed on Jett’s music, Barnes & Noble’s latest recognition adds another chapter to one of rock’s great rejection-to-redemption stories.
Related: 1977 Rock Album Is Suddenly Back on the Charts 48 Years After Album of the Year Grammy
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