Joan Jett says the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame needs more women

by Mark Teo

April 7, 2015

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No duh, Joan.

This year, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will be inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. She’s undoubtedly in the company of legends: Ringo Starr, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Lou Reed, Green Day, and Stevie Ray Vaughan will join her. 2015 is indeed a diverse year, spanning genres and eras, but Jett noticed something missing among the diversity: She’s the only woman inducted this year. And she noticed it’s a pattern, too—the Hall tends to be male-dominated.

So the “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” singer, who undoubtedly loves rock ‘n’ roll, made a plea: Her chosen genre needs to recognize more of its women. Other genres—notably, pop—celebrate its female performers, she told Billboard, and so, too, should rock.

There should be more women in the Hall of Fame, and more women in rock. They’re out there, they just don’t get the notice the pop girls do. Go to any city and there’s an all-girl rock band. It’s just a matter of society wanting to hear that kind of music. But people’s tastes change, so you have to just do what you love and hope other people love it too.”

The Hall of Fame, which will induct Jett this month, has its share of women: In recent years, Donna Summers, Darlene Love, Madonna, and Patti Smith have been inducted. But scan its list of members, and you’ll find far more men.

Rock’s skew towards men wasn’t lost on Jett. She says that, even while penning hits, the industry constantly made her aware of the fact that she was, well, a woman. “We couldn’t forget that we were girls,” she added. “We had to defend it all the time. I could not get a record deal after The Runaways broke up. I gave all the labels four songs: ‘I Love Rock ‘N Roll,’ ‘Crimson and Clover,’ ‘Do You Wanna Touch Me’ and ‘Bad Reputation.’ All four of those songs became hits, and all of those labels sent us rejection letters.”

So, does the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame need more women? Well, yeah, no duh.

Tags: Music, News, Joan Jett

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