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TOP 1200 CHOICE TRACKS

#591 CHERRY BOMB The Runaways
All-girl rock group The Runaways made a splash when they arrived on the music scene in 1975. Female rockers were not commonplace at the time. Teenaged "rock chicks" were even rarer. The group was signed to Mercury Records in early 1976 and had an album out in a few months. Promoter / manager Kim Fowley had the contacts and experience, but the jury is still out on whether he was truly an asset for the band or a hindrance. That debut LP featured the single "Cherry Bomb". Written by Fowley with group member Joan Jett, the song peaked at #2 in the UK and topped the Japanese chart. It failed to make the US Hot 100.
While on tour in Japan, the group was greeted with enthusiastic audiences, but internal tension started to affect the Runaways' future. Members came and went. Jett attempted to exert more control over the group in order to keep the band viable. Their next albums went largely ignored. Creative differences over musical direction between Jett and Lita Ford and drug abuse worsened the situation. Fowley grew disinterested and stopped managing the band. The final straw was the departure of Jett in 1979, the group folding soon after. Jett launched a solo career. In 2010, a bio-pic was released dealing with the band's story.

This is a list made up of the songs I enjoy the most, ranked in order of preference: the higher we go, the more I cherish them. Some were released as singles, others as album tracks. Some are obscure; others were worldwide hits or have universal appeal. They aren't always the most famous or popular, but simply a personal choice. I have excluded songs from the last few years in order to get a better idea of a song's lasting impression. I hope you find some new tracks to love, or re-discover some past favourites.
To mark the occasion of reaching the halfway mark for this special countdown, a new song will be added on the hour all day today (in place of this week's Mid Week Bonus).