Out Spotlight XCVII

Today's Out Spotlight is Janis Ian. Singer, songwriter, poet, columnist,science fiction fan-turned-author.

Born Janis Eddy Fink, April 7, 1951 to a Jewish family in New York City, she was primarily raised in New Jersey, attended East Orange High School and then the pretigious New York City High School of Music & Art. Her parents, Victor , a music teacher and Pearl, ran a summer camp in upstate New York, and, in that Cold War era, were frequently under government surveillance because of their left-wing politics. (She would allude to these years later in her song "God and the FBI"). As a young girl Ian admired the work of folk pioneers such as Joan Baez and Odetta and at the age of twelve, ahe wrote her first song, "Hair of Spun Gold," which was she later recorded for her debut album. At age thirteen, she legally changed her name to Janis Ian, using brother Eric's middle name.

At fourteen, Ian met producer George "Shadow" Morton, at the time best-known for his work with The Shangri-Las, and was signed to a recording contract with Atlantic Records. Two years later she had a national hit single with "Society's Child" a controversial song about an interracial teen couple and the social pressure to end their relationship. Her growing fame made her time high school difficult with her teachers frequently making comments about her budding career and, despite her achieving good grades on exams, failed her in every subject due to her frequent absences to perform. She later dropped out of the High School of Music and Art with her teachers' blessing.

Her most successful single in the United States was "At Seventeen," released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, the illusion of popularity, and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the maturity of adulthood. Winning a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female in 1975, the 16 yr. old Ian beat out the of Linda Ronstadt; Olivia Newton-John; and Helen Reddy. She performed "At Seventeen" as a musical guest on the very first episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975. The song's album, Between the Lines, was also a smash and hit #1 on Billboard's Album chart. It was quickly certified Gold and later earned a 'Platinum' certification for sales of over one million copies sold in the US. On Valentine's Day 1977, Ian received 461 Valentine cards, from the line in the song about never getting one.

Her song "Fly Too High", produced by disco producer Giorgio Moroder, was her contribution to the soundtrack of the Jodie Foster film Foxes, also featured on Ian's 1979 album Night Rains. It earned her a Grammy nomination and became a hit single in many countries, including South Africa, Belgium. Australia, Israel, and the Netherlands.

While commercially successful in outside the U.S., with a very strong following in Japan, Ian made the pop charts only once more in the U.S. with "Under the Covers," though she had several more songs reach the Adult Contemporary singles chart through 1980 . She walked away from her CBS contract in 1982, while it still had three albums worth close to a million dollars in her pocket to go. Ian deliberately spent much of the 1980s and early 1990s without a record deal. During the 1982–1992 period she continued to write songs, She also studied under legendary acting coach Stella Adler and struck up a close friendship with Adler, which continued until Adler's death in 1992.

Ian became one of the first "indie artists," resurfacing in 1993, with the worldwide release of "Breaking Silence". Her lyrics pull no punches. The issues covered in this collection include incest, abuse, and the Holocaust. Much of the reason for the album's delay was that the music industry considered Janis Ian "unbankable." Finally in frustration, she was forced to mortgage her house to record Breaking Silence. As well as stepping back into the musical spotlight, she as came out publicly. Ian had been out of the closet to her family and within the industry for years. But she has chosen to come out publicly as a lesbian amidst the publicity of the album.

Ian has released five albums since,including a live album, 2003's Working Without A Net.Ian's most recent album, Folk Is The New Black, was released jointly by the Rude Girl and Cooking Vinyl labels in 2006. It is the first in over twenty years where she did all the songwriting herself.

On July 24, 2008, Janis Ian released her Autobiography: Society's Child to much critical acclaim. An accompanying double CD, The Autobiography Collection has also been released with all Ian's best loved songs.

Ian still tours and has a devoted fan base.

A outspoken critic of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA], which she sees as acting against the interests of musicians and consumers. As such, she has willingly released several of her songs for free download from her website.

In addition to being an award-winning singer-songwriter, Ian writes science fiction. A long-time reader of the genre, she got into science fiction fandom in 2001, attending the Millennium Philcon. Her works have been published in an assortment of anthologies, and she co-edited, with Mike Resnick, the anthology Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian, published in 2003. She attends sci-fi conventions when she can.

She has been a regular columnist for, and still contributes to the LGBT news magazine, The Advocate.

Ian currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her wife,attorney Patricia Snyder, whom she married in Toronto, August 27, 2003. She and her wife have been a couple over 19 years.

Janis Ian Official Website