From My Collection #41: The Runaways – The Runaways

Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. Today’s essay is a tale of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, which becomes more taboo when one considers nearly all parties involved were underage. It’s a tale of triumph and tragedy, debauchery and depravity, one that only could’ve taken place in Hollywood, California circa 1976. Do I have your attention yet? Good. Gather ’round kids. Today, I’m going to tell you the story of a little band called The Runaways, their explosive debut album, and how against all odds they changed the face of rock music forever. All hail the queens of noise!

The story of The Runaways begins a year earlier in 1975. There are claims that the band was pre-assembled similar to The Monkees by record producer/L.A. scenester/alleged rapist Kim Fowley, which is really only half true. It all started when Fowley connected drummer Sandy West with guitarist/vocalist Joan Jett, as both had introduced themselves to Fowley separately. Now what a couple of 16 year old girls were doing hanging out with a strange man 20 years their senior is beyond me, but I digress. You see, this was a very different time, and while that’s not a justification for the heinous and downright illegal acts that occurred behind the scenes, it was this “anything goes” ethos that fueled the landscape of the L.A. music scene.

Over the course of a few months, calls were made, young women were scouted, and The Runaways were born. The lineup that rockers came to know and love included the aforementioned West on drums and Jett on guitars and vocals, Lita Ford on lead guitars, Jackie Fox on bass, and Cherie Currie on vocals. Little did these five know that the music they’d create would kickstart a rock n’ roll revolution…or maybe they did. While The Runaways weren’t the first all female rock band (there was The GTOs, Fanny, and Birtha, to name a few), they were the ones who became synonymous with the concept of women in rock, paving the way for bands like Girlschool , L7, and The Donnas, as well as the 90s riot grrrl scene.

The band’s iconic self titled debut was a raucous amalgamation of sweaty hard rock and headstrong punk, topped with the carefree spirit of glam and presented through a feminist lens. Only don’t go confusing this band for the lightweight women’s liberation hymns of Helen Reddy and Janis Ian. These girls were equipped with guitars and amplifiers, ready to wipe out the schlock that came to define “women’s music”, as well as their male competition. Led Zeppelin? Aerosmith? KISS? Please! They didn’t have a “Cherry Bomb”!

From the album’s opening track, The Runaways get right down to business. “Cherry Bomb” is as much of an anthem today as it was back then. It’s simple and straightforward, with its four on the floor beat, twin guitar attack, and charismatic vocals. Currie couldn’t belt it out like Janis Joplin before her, or Ann Wilson after her, but she could invoke feelings of moodiness, rage, and sheer teen angst; feelings that were being bottled up by America’s teenage female youth. In this manner, The Runaways can be viewed as a sort of musical exorcism, in which Currie and company have nothing to hide.

The following track, “You Drive Me Wild”, introduces us to the snarling young Jett, who shares vocal duties with Currie on this outing. A hard nosed pop rocker at its core, “You Drive Me Wild” wouldn’t sound out of place on a KISS or Sweet album. Yet something tells me Paul Stanley couldn’t have driven the song home the way Jett does. On the other side of the coin is the Currie sung “Is It Day or Night?”, whose dark, repetitive lead riff conjures images of Black Sabbath circa Vol. 4. While the song itself was written by Fowley, there’s no doubt Ford’s metallic edge shines brightly on this one.

“Thunder” tunes the heaviness dial down a notch with its focus on hooks and honesty. You could be forgiven for thinking this was a lost garage rock nugget from a decade earlier. This spirit and sanctity of American rock n’ roll’s salad days was alive and well in The Runaways, at least on this album. The powers that be were not able to corrupt it…yet, but more on that later. Side A closes with, as far as I’m concerned, the definitive version of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll”. Where as the VU’s original is a half baked attempt at Dylan infused hard rock, The Runaways transform it into the arena rock anthem it was meant to be. No cover since has even come close.

As we flip over to side B, we’re greeted by the sexually charged “Lovers”: a brief ditty that tows the line between nasty proto-punk and sweet pop rock. Now as a horny 13 year old, I had no problem hearing Jett sing a lyric like “Make me scream, make it fast.” At 23, it’s quite cringe inducing and feels borderline criminal, but that’s exactly what this band was going for. Even if it was partially under the perverted guise of Fowley, The Runaways’ purpose was to make anyone over 18 feel uncomfortable, and anyone under 18 feel wanted.

“American Nights” is a star spangled anthem to the only country in the world that could’ve spawned an act like The Runaways, bursting at the seams with metallic muscle and raw power. Again, the riffing and arrangement is KISS-esque in nature, but with an extra bite. The vengeful “Blackmail” stands out as the album’s most dangerous cut, both lyrically and musically, while “Secrets” revisits the garage rock moves of “Thunder”. Closing it all out is a 7 minute epic that’s anything but prog, “Dead End Justice”.

In this metalpunk suite, Jett and Currie exchange vocals/spoken word duties, taking on the role as juvenile delinquents plotting their breakout. And while this lengthy composition lacks the complexities and technicality of most 5+ minute compositions released in the 70s, it gets the message across more succinctly than 99.9% of other 70s epics. Whereas unless under the influence of psychedelics I have a hard time imagining *insert obscure prog band here* singing about sea demons, ice elves, or some other bizarre fantastical creature, I can vividly imagine Jett and Currie running frantically through a jailyard, desperate for freedom from both the law and elder authority.

Because even the “progressive” record buying youth was NOT ready for an all female band singing about sex and sticking it to the man, The Runaways performed dismally just about everywhere except Japan. Seeing this as an opportunity, Fowley spent the rest of the band’s brief career polishing them for the Japanese market, each subsequent release feeling more forced than the last. That’s not to say there aren’t some bangers on these latter day Runaways albums (i.e. “School Days”, “Black Leather”, etc.), but between the revolving lineup and behind the scenes turmoil (drug abuse, creative conflict, etc.), the party was over.

So what became of these young Runaways? Joan Jett embarked upon a celebrated solo career that catapulted pop punk to the masses and landed her in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lita Ford too met solo acclaim, forging her path as the first lady of heavy metal. Cherie Currie pursued a career in both music and acting, landing a role in the cult 70s flick Foxes alongside Jodie Foster. Sandy West kept busy as a session drummer until her untimely passing in 2005. And Jackie Fox retreated from music entirely, earning a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard.

While each of these women chose different paths after The Runaways, there’s no denying the colossal impact they had together as a unit; impact that’s still being felt to this day. This isn’t a band in need of a Hall of Fame induction ceremony or a corporate sponsored reunion cash grab. The spirit of the Runaways lives in every young woman who’s ever picked up a guitar or bass, sat behind a drumkit, or found the courage to scream into a mic. They were the real deal, ground zero for an entire movement, and no man can ever take that away from them.