Janis Eddy Fink was born on April 7, 1951 in New York City. Born to Jewish parents she grew up on a farm in New Jersey and attended East Orange High School. She then attended the New York City High School of Music and Art. Her parents were left-wing activists and often under FBI surveillance. Janis took piano lessons at the age of six and by her early teens she was an accomplished musician. Janis wrote her first song “Hair of Spun Gold” at twelve and changed her name to Janis Ian which was her brothers middle name. At thirteen she wrote her first and song “Society’s Child”. The interracial love song was actually banned on some radio stations. At fourteen she released her biggest hit “At Seventeen” which reached #3 on the Billboard Top 100. Ian would fail to chart another Billboard Top 100 until 1981 with “Under the Covers” but continued to chart on the Adult Contemporary charts. Her recording of “Fly to High” garnered her a Grammy nomination and was part of the soundtrack for Jodie Foster’s 1979 film “Foxes”. Her recordings were well received in South Africa, Belgium, Australia, Israel, Netherlands and Japan. Ian composed the soundtrack an sang the main theme “”The Last Time” for the 1968 Euro-western “Four Rode Out” starring Pernell Roberts, Leslie Nielsen and Sue Lyon. Ian continues tour and her autobiography “Society’s Child” was released in 2008. Today she lives in Toronto, Canada with her partner Patricia Snyder whom she married in 2003. Today we celebrate Janis Ian’s 60th birthday.
"I learned the truth I seventeen". Yeah, I remember that song. She actually recorded it in 1975 by the time she was 24. She wrote it when she was 14 but waited for another ten years because she didn't think people would wanna listen to it. Janis Ian wasn't really known for being shy so this came as a surprise to fans of her music. She claimed in a 2009 interview, "When I wrote that in '65 I didn't think anybody would wanna hear it. It was just one of those songs I wrote on a whim. But I knew better overtime." And she's not wrong either. The song became an international hit and has been featured on almost every motion picture soundtrack and is heard on almost every TV show to this very day. You're welcome, America.
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