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Joan Jett & the Blackhearts scored a #1 hit with Merrill's song in 1982. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Alan Merrill has died in New York at the age of 69 as a result of the coronavirus. Merrill was best known for writing the track "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." Merrill originally wrote and recorded the iconic song while he was a member of the band the Arrows, who released the track in 1975. The song would later become a huge hit for Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, who topped the charts with the tune in 1982. Merrill was inspired to...

Alan Merrill, the former Arrows bandmate who co-wrote and sang "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," died on Sunday at age 69 from the coronavirus, his daughter confirmed. “The Coronavirus took my father this morning. I was given 2 minutes to say my goodbyes before I was rushed out. He seemed peaceful and as I left there was still a glimmer of hope that he wouldn’t be a ticker on the right hand side of the CNN/Fox news screen,” his daughter, Laura Merrill, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “I walked 50 blocks home still with hope in my heart....