After splitting with The Runaways, and releasing her first solo album, Joan Jett placed an ad in LA Weekly looking for bandmates. Gary Ryan, Eric Ambel, and Danny “Furious” O'Brien joined her, creating the orginial Blackhearts lineup.
After their initial tour though, O'Brien was replaced with Lee Crystal.

Early on, keeping the band afloat was not easy. Joan and producer Kenny Laguna struggled, sometimes selling copies of albums from the trunk of his car. Eventually unable to keep up with the demand for Joan Jett’s album, they signed with Boardwalk Records.

In 1981 the band released their first album together, I Love Rock N Roll. The band’s line up has continued to change over the years.

To date the band has ten studio albums, with two additional albums released under just “Joan Jett.”
Their current line up is Joan Jett, Dougie Needles, Hal B. Selzer, and Thommy Price.