Released in 1977, “Queens of Noise” gave an 18-year-old Joan Jett one of her earliest chances to lead a song, years before she’d become one of rock’s most recognizable voices.

At the time, Jett was one of five members of the Runaways, the Los Angeles rock band that helped launch her solo career as well as Lita Ford’s.

Although the band found little commercial success during its brief four-year run, fans have continued to revisit its music decades later.

The band formed when Kim Fowley, who would go on to manage the group, brought five teenagers who barely knew each other together. That lineup, Cherie Currie, Jackie Fox, Sandy West, Ford and Jett became the Runaways’ most recognizable version.

When the band released its self-titled debut album in 1976, it quickly attracted attention, though not all of it was focused on the music — most of it had to do with their age and image. 

Following the success of that debut, the Runaways began work on a follow-up, Queens of Noise. By then, the band’s relationship with Fowley had grown strained, and both sides agreed to bring in someone else for production. 

The Runaways tapped Earle Mankey, best known for his work with the Beach Boys, to engineer and produce the record.

Many consider “Queens of Noise” one of the strongest songs on the band’s sophomore record. The album’s title track carried a heavier sound than much of the Runaway’s earlier work, built around a guitar solo from Ford.

It was also the only song on the record that none of the band had written themselves.

According to Jett, “Queens of Noise” was actually written by Billy Bizeau of the Quick, another band Fowley managed at the time. She also handled the song’s lead vocals.

Jett previously said the title came from a line in “American Nights,” off the band’s debut album, while Fowley once described the song as “a great opening statement.”

Queens of Noise never came close to No. 1, but it did chart, peaking at No. 172 on the Billboard 200. 

And the band itself wouldn’t last much longer after that. Currie, the group’s frontwoman, left in 1977, and the Runaways officially split by 1979.

Looking back, Currie said several factors contributed to the group’s breakup. “I just feel that it was all timing,” she told NME in 2019. 

“I left the band in 1977. We just weren’t getting along. Kim, towards the end of his life, used to say that if we had just hung together for one more album … and I agree with him. It was just that the timing was wrong.”

“We didn’t have proper guidance,” she continued. “When you’re 16 and 17, there’s a lot of infighting, a lot of jealousy. … We had nobody to rope us in, so kids will be kids, and we were kids.” 

Fans, though, have continued to discover “Queens of Noise” over the years. On YouTube, a live recording from the band’s 1977 tour in Japan has drawn close to a million views, and viewers keep coming back to say the same things. 

“This band was so ahead of its time,” one user wrote.

Another called the song “so bada**,” while a third named it among their “favorite” Runaways tracks.

Related: 1975 Rock Classic, With 18-Year-Old Singer, Was a No. 1 Hit 50 Years Ago

This story was originally published by Parade on Jul 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.