It’s 2015, which means the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been around for almost 30 years. You’d think that, considering all the women who’ve made waves in rock and roll, there’d be more of them in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are quite a few, but when compared to the guys, the ratio is depressing. A 2011 report suggests women make up about 10 percent of all inductees. Joan Jett is currently not one of them.
The same woman who sang “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” is not in the hall of fame yet! Luckily, this will be rectified when Jett is inducted on April 18th. Yet the total number of recognized female performers remains small, and Jett has some advice for how this might be corrected.
Jett says that girl pop singers get more attention than rock singers but they also fade a hell of a lot faster. But rock endures:
“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.”
Noting that she didn’t take a lot of pictures while in The Runaways, she says it will pay off in the end to “document” your life as it happens — so you can remember it in the future:
“I don’t think teenagers think that far ahead. I didn’t think about the future or ‘When will I retire?’ I still haven’t thought about that. Other people keep going, so obviously I can.”
As for rejection, it happens to the best of us. Even Joan Jett:
“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.”
Even if you aren’t trying to be a rock star musician, listening to Jett’s advice can’t be anything but a good idea.
Source: Billboard