IAN, JANIS

IAN, JANIS (Fink; 1951– ), U.S. singer and songwriter. Born in New Jersey, Ian was discovered at the age of 14 by leord bernstein , who played her song "Society's Child" (1967) on his television special, Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. Although the song was banned in many places because of its interracial theme, it became a nationwide hit. But Ian had trouble repeating her success and was eventually released by her record label, Columbia. She managed to revive her career in Australia, and then triumphantly reentered the American music scene at 26 with her deeply etched portrait of adolescent pain, "At Seventeen" (1975). Speaking out through her music as she tackles taboo subjects as well as all-too-human ones, Ian is an emotionally wrenching singer and an accomplished self-taught guitarist. She released more than 20 albums, the earliest being Janis Ian (1967); For All the Seasons of Your Mind (1968); and Who Really Cares (1969). Her more recent releases include Breaking Silence (1995); Hunger (1997); God and the FBI (2000); Working without a Net (2003); and Billie's Bones (2004). In 1975 she won a Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocalist for "At Seventeen." She then earned five other Grammy nominations. In 2001 "Society's Child" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Ian has lived in Nashville since 1988. In 2003 she married her long-time life partner, Patricia Snyder. In addition to the many songs she composed, Ian published a collection of poems titled Who Really Cares: Poems   from Childhood and Early Youth (1969). She also co-edited Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian (2003), a collection of science-fiction and fantasy tales written by well-known authors of the genre, each inspired by one of her songs. (Jonathan Licht / Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)