When producer Kim Fowley met teenager Joan Jett in 1975, she told him she wanted to form an all-girl group. When 15-year-old drummer Sandy West expressed the same interest a few weeks later, Kim directed her to Joan. Kim also found and recruited Lita Ford, Cherie Currie, and Jackie Fox, and the result was the formation of the Runaways. Kim produced some of their records. The group struggled to find acceptance in the US, but were one of the top acts when they toured in Japan in 1977. Lita and Joan fought over the direction for the group and it tore the group apart: Lita wanted to play hard rock and Joan wanted to play punk music. They finally split up in 1979.
Lita recorded albums for Mercury Records in 1983 and 1984 without much success. She then signed with Sharon Osbourne’s management company and began recording for RCA Records. Her first album for RCA was Lita, which came out in 1988 and produced her most popular recordings.
The first single from the album was Kiss Me Deadly. The single peaked at #12 on the Hot 100 and barely got into the top forty of the US Mainstream Rock chart.
Lita’s album included Close My Eyes Forever, a duet with Ozzy Osbourne. The single reached #8 on the Hot 100 and #25 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
Albums in 1990 and 1991 each produced a single that did moderately well on the US Mainstream Rock chart, but neither reached the top forty on the Hot 100. A third album in 1995 failed to produce a single that charted at all. After that, Lita retreated from her music career so she could spend time raising her two sons.
Lita returned to performing at live concerts in 2008 and recorded new albums in 2009 and 2012. In 2013, Lita reunited with former Runaway Cherie and they recorded the single Rock This Christmas to raise money for Toys For Tots.
Lita continues to tour and has her own website at http://www.litafordonline.com/.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lita_Ford
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