#1 Thirty Years Ago Today

Joan Jett's cover of the 1975 flop by British power pop band Arrows pulled her from the Runaways pack and into the hearts of baby dykes worldwide. One of those baby dykes was my clubbing pal Razor (real name: Dorothy), who emerged from Jett's backstage to show me her hickey'd neck after I'd waited out front through a lackluster performance by that night's headliner, Iggy Pop, who'd actually berated the audience for not applauding more vigorously. With seven weeks at the top, I Love Rock N Roll tied with Ebony And Ivory (shudder) for 1982's longest running #1 single.