50 years ago today (8/5/75), guitarist Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West teamed up to form The Runaways, one of the first all-female rock bands to gain national attention. Over the course of their career, the group released four studio albums and toured with acts like Van Halen, Talking Heads, and Cheap Trick. Among their standout tracks were the rebellious anthem “Cherry Bomb,” the hard-hitting “Queens of Noise,” and a fiery cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Rock & Roll.” Watch The Runaways live in Japan in 1977
