Rock and roll has always been about theft and transformation. In 1981, Joan Jett was already the queen of the comeback, having shed the "teenybopper" skin of The Runaways to find a harder, meaner sound with the Blackhearts. But when she decided to record Do You Want to Touch Me, she wasn't just picking a catchy tune. She was playing with fire.
The song is a stomp-heavy, glam-rock anthem. It’s got that "hey!" chant that makes you want to kick over a chair. Most people know Jett's version by heart, but the history behind it is complicated, a bit messy, and honestly, a little dark.
The Sticky History of a Glam Rock Staple
Before Jett put her leather-jacket stamp on it, Do You Want to Touch Me was a 1973 hit for Gary Glitter. Glitter was the king of the "stomp" beat in the UK. Along with producer Mike Leander, he crafted these massive, echo-laden tracks that felt like a riot in a high school gym.
Jett loved that sound. She grew up on it.
When she recorded it for her debut solo album Bad Reputation (originally self-titled in 1980), she kept the bones of the original but stripped away the camp. She replaced the glitter with grit. While the original felt like a theatrical performance, Jett’s version felt like a challenge.
It worked.
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The song eventually reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. This was right as she was becoming a household name. You couldn't turn on MTV without seeing her. She was the cool older sister everyone wanted to be, or be with, and this song was the soundtrack.
Why the Song Became a Cultural Minefield
Here is where things get uncomfortable. In the late 90s and 2000s, Gary Glitter’s life took a horrific turn. He was convicted of multiple counts of child sex abuse. Suddenly, playing a song he wrote—especially one titled Do You Want to Touch Me—felt very different to a lot of people.
It wasn't just a fun rock song anymore. It was a royalty stream for a criminal.
This created a massive headache for brands. In 2008, Hewlett-Packard used Jett’s version of the song in a commercial for their "TouchSmart" computers. It seemed like a clever pun. It wasn't. Once the public realized Glitter wrote the song and would receive roughly £100,000 in royalties, the backlash was instant.
HP pulled the ad.
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The controversy didn't stop there. When the TV show Glee covered the song in 2011, it sparked another round of debates. Critics wondered if we could ever truly separate the art from the artist. Can you scream "Oh yeah!" to a beat written by a predator?
The Royalty Question: Where Does the Money Go?
People often ask if Glitter still gets paid when Jett’s version plays on the radio. The short answer? It's complicated.
- Songwriting Credits: As a co-writer with Mike Leander, Glitter is technically owed performance royalties.
- Rights Sales: There are reports that he sold his rights in the late 90s, but "mechanical" royalties (the money from someone buying a record) often still flow to the estate or the original creator unless specifically signed away.
- Modern Responses: Bands like Green Day, who sampled the song in their track "Oh Yeah!", opted to donate their share of the royalties to organizations like IJM and RAINN to offset the "tainted" money.
Making the Song Her Own
Despite the baggage, Joan Jett hasn't retired the song. To her, and to millions of fans, it belongs to the Blackhearts now.
She took a song that was built on a certain type of masculine swagger and reclaimed it. Jett’s delivery is famously deadpan. She isn't asking for permission; she's stating a fact of life.
The production on the Jett version—handled by Kenny Laguna and Ritchie Cordell—is a masterclass in 80s rock. The drums are dry and heavy. The handclaps are loud enough to pierce through a crowded bar. It’s a perfect three-and-a-half-minute blast of rebellion.
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If you listen to the two versions side-by-side, Glitter’s original sounds "fluttery." It has saxophones and a swinging feel. Jett’s version is a straight line. It’s a locomotive.
The Lasting Legacy of the Stomp
Why do we still talk about Do You Want to Touch Me? Because it’s one of the few songs that survived a total cultural cancellation of its creator.
It survived because Jett’s performance was so definitive that most people under the age of 50 don't even realize it's a cover. It’s part of the "I Love Rock 'n Roll" era of dominance where Jett proved that a woman with a Gibson Melody Maker could out-rock anyone in the building.
She didn't change the lyrics. She didn't have to. By simply being Joan Jett, she changed the context.
How to Listen Responsibly Today
If the history of the song makes you uneasy, you aren't alone. Music history is full of these "problematic" intersections. However, if you want to support Jett without feeling the "Glitter guilt," there are ways to navigate it.
- Watch Live Performances: Viewing live clips on her official channels supports the performer and the Blackhearts' touring legacy.
- Focus on the Production: Listen to the nuances of Kenny Laguna’s work. He’s the one who helped Jett find her "wall of sound" that defined the 80s.
- Acknowledge the Shift: Recognize that the song, in Jett’s hands, became an anthem for female empowerment and autonomy, a far cry from its origins.
At the end of the day, Do You Want to Touch Me is a piece of rock history that refuses to die. It’s a reminder that songs can have multiple lives, and sometimes, the second life is much more interesting than the first.
Go back and listen to the Bad Reputation album in full. It’s a raw, unfiltered look at an artist who refused to play by the rules, even when those rules were written by the industry's biggest names. Check out "Victim of Circumstance" or "You Don't Own Me" to see how Jett was consistently weaving a narrative of independence that still resonates today.