One of the most amazing parts to Joan Jett is she hits you below the gut, with her deep, crisp and melodic voice. She jets out tunes from the underground, giving you permission to not only feel extremely powerful but also insurmountable. Jett rises with an upbeat, gritty song, “Fresh Start” where you are reminded, though you may feel stuck – you most certainly are not.

Jett opens up in an interview, “Sometimes you need to say to yourself, ‘Am I still enjoying what I’m doing? I need to find the fire again,’” Jett said of the song, which is her first release in five years. “Part of it was just thinking about rock in general. It’s always been a young person’s game, writing about sex, love and partying. As rock and rollers get older, what do they write about? I’m not sure there’s an answer, but we’re looking for it.”

We can relate to lyrics like: Sometimes I feel like I’ve been here before. Sometimes I feel like I’m standing still or better yet I’m running up a hill. Sometimes I feel like I need a crutch. Sometimes I feel like it’s all too much.

Jett performs with Miley Cyrus and Against Me! frontwoman, Laura Jane Grace when they covered “Androgynous” by the Replacements back in 2015. The story of Jett stems back to the 70’s when she got her first guitar at age 14 and hung out at Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco in Los Angeles. She later became the founding member of the band, The Runaways. They recorded five albums and opened for acts like Van Halen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

In 1979, the group Joan Jett & the Blackhearts stole the hearts of millions of people worldwide. In 1982, the song, “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” was number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 for seven weeks in a row. It is Billboard’s #56 song of all time and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.

Through the years, Jett made numerous television and film appearances, as well as received multiple awards, including 2014 AP Icon Award, 2014 Golden God Award, Rolling Stone 100 greatest guitarists of all time (#87).

Photo credit: Marisa Rose Ficara