When this interview was recorded in 1983, many thought that Joan Jett had achieved rock stardom through puppetry. Her all-girl teenage punk band, The Runaways, was considered to be the money-making gimmick of industry man Kim Fowley, and many believed her manager and songwriting partner, Kenny Laguna, was pulling the strings to her solo career.

Perhaps as a response to this general view, Jett paints a very different picture here, stressing to Lisa Robinson and the radio audience that she had always done things her own way. And while the absence of eloquence could be used as evidence for either side of the debate, her stories of career struggles, her reports of rigorous touring, her insistence on not being in it for the money, and her apparent love of rock n’ roll (sorry) all speak to a do-it-yourself, hard-working mentality.

00:00 – Avoiding boredom on tour 01:11 – Writing more complex songs / “learning” slide guitar 02:16 – Catching up on sleep / being tested 03:43 – Original reaction to The Runaways / hypothetical current reaction 04:56 – Dismissing the rumors of Kim Fowley’s role with The Runaways 05:39 – “I Love Rock N’ Roll” / British television / The Arrows 07:10 – Difficulty in obtaining a record deal 07:48 – A warning for the music industry / how much power the fans have 09:13 – Playing in East Germany for kids starved for rock n’ roll 11:05 – Misconception of Joan as a puppet: Kenny Laguna, importance of the Blackhearts 13:09 – The new record (Album) 13:46 – Growth heard in the new album due to incessant gigging 14:35 – The perks of admitting mistakes on stage 15:12 – Maturation through discerning who’s out to take advantage of you 16:07 – Wearing glitter to elementary school 16:42 – Not being a “freak;” not being “normal” 17:54 – Potential for making a movie in the future 19:35 – The Baltimore Orioles 19:57 – Making and spending a lot of money / building a fan base in Europe 21:37 – Not having time to spend money 22:32 – Attempting to learn German and why 23:57 – How the Blackhearts approach ballads 25:09 – Challenges that she faces / slide guitar / rhythm guitarists being overlooked 27:23 – Avoiding depression 28:38 – Kenny Laguna helping to build her confidence 30:30 – Still getting nervous 31:14 – Being hated at some shows 31:35 – (Not) receiving credit for breaking barriers for women in rock / her guitar sound.