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Guitar World
Guitar World
Entertainment
Phil Weller

“I remember asking Leslie West, ‘How should I go about this song?’ I remember that as if it were yesterday”: When Ricky Byrd needed to record a solo for this Joan Jett hit, he asked the Mountain legend for advice – this is what he said

Leslie West Joan Jett Mountain
Ricky Byrd and Leslie West - GettyImages-160078576 - GettyImages-157274085.

Joan Jett’s 1981 anthem I Love Rock ‘n Roll is an electric guitar – and air guitar – classic, and Ricky Byrd says he received some crucial advice from Leslie West before tracking its guitar solo.

The song was originally written by the Arrows' Jake Hooker Alan Merrill in 1975. Jett, who reportedly saw the band perform the track on TV, brought it to the Runaways with the view of covering it. Though the idea was dismissed, she revived it when she went solo at the start of the 1980s.

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