YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 161 (Band Connections 6)
(Originally finalized on October 8, 2025)
Preface: Truth be told, I'm running out of subjects for this series - not that there is any shortage of musical fraternities to delve into, but there are only so many I can speak knowledgeably on. Before we conclude the series for good, I'd like to dedicate an episode to the all-girl teenage rock band The Runaways - from their roots to their branches.
Monday: Cradle - Soothsayer [Cradle - The History, 2010]
Comments: The blueprint for The Runaways was written by an earlier garage rock band named The Pleasure Seekers (later renamed Cradle), which was formed in 1964 in Detroit, by sisters Patti and Suzi Quatro (eventually joined by two more sisters, Arlene and Nancy) when they were just teenagers. One of the first all-female bands signed to a major record label, they surprised audiences by subverting expectations of the kind of music a girl group could play.
Tuesday: Suzi Quatro - The Wild One [Quatro, 1974]
Comments: In 1971, singer and bass player Suzi Quatro was singled out by record producer Mickie Most. Relocated to England, she started a moderately successful solo career - gaining enough notoriety to later be cast in a recurring role on Happy Days. A formative influence on Joan Jett, Quatro pioneered an aggressive, female-dominated approach to rock music.
Wednesday: The Runaways - Dead End Justice [The Runaways, 1976]
Comments: The story's pretty well-known by now, since they filmed a Hollywood blockbuster about it, but for all his considerable character flaws, Kim Fowley - while stalking teenagers in night clubs in LA during the mid-'70s - had the vision to put together an all-girl rock band. Closing out The Runaways' debut album, this story song (which I've been dying to find an excuse to share on this music log) emphasizes the creative partnership between bandmembers Cherie Currie and Joan Jett - the Jagger/Richards of your local girls' juvenile detention center.
Thursday: Cherie & Marie Currie - We're Through [Messin' With The Boys, 1980]
Comments: After recording two albums with The Runaways, Cherie Currie split from the band. She released one more album as a solo artist (titled Beauty's Only Skin Deep) to fulfill her contract, but it was mostly pop fluff. The followup, however, was far more interesting. Not only did Cherie bring on her twin sister Marie, but she also enlisted help from the band Toto - from which she was, at the time, dating guitarist Steve Lukather.
Friday: Rainbow - Since You Been Gone [Down To Earth, 1979] & Free - Wishing Well [Heartbreaker, 1973]
Comments: Cherie and Marie's album Messin' With The Boys contains a few surprises. Its biggest hit was a cover of a song previously recorded by the band Rainbow (albeit after Dio left the band) - Since You Been Gone. Perhaps even more surprising is the presence of a cover of Wishing Well, the last hit recorded by Paul Rodgers' early band Free (tying us back to an earlier episode of Band Connections).
Saturday: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Hate Myself For Loving You [Up Your Alley, 1988]
Comments: Meanwhile, The Runaways recorded one more album before the band was dissolved due to growing musical differences between the members. Although as frontwoman, Cherie was the more marketable talent, Joan Jett would be the one to go on to an ultimately successful career (forming her own record label in the process), eventually becoming a rock 'n' roll icon. On this song - which was nominated for a Grammy in 1988 - former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor (who appeared on our first episode of Band Connections) plays the guitar solo.
Sunday: Lita Ford - Close My Eyes Forever [Lita, 1988]
Comments: Lead guitarist for The Runaways, Lita Ford followed up her tenure in the band with a noteworthy career in glam metal. And while Cherie had a brush with Deep Purple's guitarist, covering one of his band's hits on her solo album, Lita not only spent a short time engaged to Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi (linking us back to yet another previous episode of Band Connections), but was also managed by Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon! Lita's most enduring hit is a duet with Ozzy, which serves as an endearing tribute to a metal god that, at the time of this writing, has recently passed away.