One of the first female rock bands in the music industry, The Runaways, was an all-female American rock group founded in Los Angeles in 1975. Joan Jett played guitar and sang lead, Lita Ford played guitar and sang lead, Sandy West played drums and sang backing vocals, Jackie Fox played bass, and Cherie Currie sang lead in the original line-up.
The rock group disbanded in 1979 for a number of reasons. The band members first struggled to strike a balance between their personal artistic objectives and the stringent requirements of their record label, Mercury Records. The band members also disagreed on the group’s musical direction, appearance, and the duties that each member would play. The band disbanded due to the demands of popularity, tiredness from touring, and artistic disagreements.
Since then, there has always been hoping for a reunion. Sadly, this has yet to happen and recently, Cherie Currie had things to say about it. Because Lita dislikes working with Kenny Laguna, a longtime associate, and producer of Jett, Jett, and Ford had been making it considerably more difficult to get the Runaways back together.
Cherie discussed the grave problem while chatting with Waste Some Time With Jason Green. Another bandmate, Lita Ford, also received her fair share of criticism from Currie, who accused Joan Jett of being ungrateful for opposing the band’s reunion. While chatting she said,
“I’m the only bandmember that’s ever played with all the bandmembers once the Runaways dispersed, disbanded. I played with Lita — I played with her; actually, I think 2015 was the last time I played on stage with her. But I played, of course, with Sandy [West] until she passed; I played with Joan [and] Jackie [Fox]. So I played with all the band members.”
“But Lita has a big problem with Kenny [Laguna]. I kind of understand why now. When Joan was into it, Lita wasn’t. When Lita was into it, Joan wasn’t. And at this point, it’s, like, ‘You know what, you girls? Are you out of your mind? Just grow the eff up.”
“Joan uses the excuse that we’re not teenagers anymore; we’re not the Runaways anymore. But to me, I think it’s incredibly selfish. You do things for the fans, and when you start thinking that you’re doing things for yourself after all these years of being successful in this business. I really think that both Lita and Joan owe it to the fans. But that’s just me.”
Cherie believed that the Runaways’ futile attempts to reconnect were due to Jett and Ford’s selfishness. However, their influence in the rock world is felt for decades; Joan Jett and Lita Ford would become two of the most successful female rock artists of all time, and their legacy as one of the earliest all-female rock bands lives on.
1 Comment
I’m okay with it. I’d love to see a reunion but at this point it’s cool to just appreciate what it was in the 70’s and what they’ve gone on to do. We don’t have to see a bunch of old people rockin like they are teenagers to appreciate the music they created.