Joan Jett

Singer-guitarist Joan Jett blazed a trail for women in rock with a three-decade career devoted to high-voltage, glam-inspired music like "I Love Rock 'n Roll," "Bad Reputation" and "I Hate Myself for Loving You." She rose to fame in the mid-1970s as bassist for the Runaways, a teenaged girl glam act assembled by notorious impresario Kim Fowley that put out iconic tracks like "Cherry Bomb." When the group imploded in 1980, Jett released a self-titled solo LP on her own label, Blackheart Records, which earned a contract with Neil Bogart's Boardwalk Records. She quickly established herself as a fervent devotee of '60s garage punk and '70s glitter rock, which she proselytized through such hook-heavy originals as "I Love Rock 'n Roll" and covers of Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)." Jett's grip on the pop charts loosened in the mid-1980s, though she made a well-regarded acting debut in Paul Schrader's "Light of Day" (1987), which also brought her a Top 40 hit with Bruce Springsteen's title track. She rebounded briefly in the early 1990s with the high-gloss hit "I Hate Myself for Loving You" before serving as godmother to the riot grrl movement, whom she embraced with critically acclaimed collaborations with alt-rock acts like Bikini Kill and the Gits. Joan Jett's fiercely independent attitude and belief in the gospel of three-rock chord rock-n-roll made her one of the most celebrated women in music history, culminating with her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the 2014 class.