Society’s Woman

Grammy-winner Janis Ian will perform at Grounds For Sculpture May 21.

By: Susan Van Dongen

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Grammy-winner Janis Ian will perform at Grounds for Sclpture May 21


   Janis Ian wants her fans to know that when they come to her concerts, she always sticks around afterwards to "sign things."
   She likes meeting folks who have been listening to her since the days of vinyl and 8-tracks — especially those who remember her as a teenager, wise beyond her years, singing about an interracial couple in "Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking)." Released in 1967 and coming at the height of the Civil Rights movement, the song touched a nerve, making Ms. Ian famous but also sending considerable controversy her way.
   "Society’s Child" was either banned or ignored by radio stations until Ms. Ian appeared on the CBS television special Inside the Rock Revolution. She had been personally invited by Leonard Bernstein to perform and was backed by the New York Philharmonic. A few weeks later, the song went to Number One on the pop charts.
   That was almost 40 years ago. Today, Ms. Ian is still crafting melodic, introspective songs. Her latest album is the self-released Billie’s Bones, partly an homage to Billie Holiday, one of her greatest inspirations. Ms. Ian will perform at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton May 21.
   "I’ve always written more about sociological things rather than political issues, but as you get older you also like to pay homage to some of your influences, hence the Billie Holiday connection," Ms. Ian says, speaking from her home in Nashville. "Billie is, to me, the female singer of the last 100 years. Her phrasing is amazing, her truthfulness when she sings is amazing. It’s a standard I try to reach."
   Billie’s Bones also includes "My Tennessee Hills," a duet with another one of Ms. Ian’s heroes, Dolly Parton, whom she says is one of the nicest people she knows.
   "Dolly’s great," she says. "She’s a wonderful human being and a great singer for that style of song."
   Settling comfortably into life in Music City with her longtime partner Patricia Snyder (they tied the knot in 2003), Ms. Ian says Nashville took some adjustment at first.
   "It’s another country," she says. "The South is a completely different culture. But along with the culture shock you have a community of songwriters to fall back upon which you really don’t get anywhere else these days."
   Her entry in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll gives her birthplace as New York City, but Ms. Ian is really a Jersey girl. She spent her early childhood on a farm in Farmingdale, Ocean County. Like Patti Smith, another small-town Garden State girl by birth, Ms. Ian took up music and songwriting as a way to entertain herself. With no iPods or Internet and just the bare beginnings of cable TV, she says that’s what kids did.
   "I think anybody in a rural area has to learn to amuse themselves and fall back on their own devices," Ms. Ian says. "Back then, television was a new thing and most families didn’t have it. My parents had a TV, but were concerned that I wouldn’t have enough of a connection with the outdoors. So we learned to play checkers or play with animals."
   Ms. Ian’s family eventually left farming behind and moved to East Orange, where her father taught music. Her mother also was musically inclined and Ms. Ian’s childhood was filled with classical, jazz and folk music. She began fingering the piano at age 2, then guitar at 10, writing her first song at age 12. She’s nonchalant about her precocious talent, however.
   "Most kids write stuff at that age," she says. "They write poetry and keep journals. The only difference is that I was acting it out, playing in public for friends and family — anyone who would have me. Richie Havens says he remembers me from camp when I was 13, coming up to him and making him listen to one of my songs — twice."
   The acceptance of "Society’s Child" helped make Ms. Ian’s debut album popular as well as critically acclaimed. Janis Ian (Verve/Forecast) was nominated for a Grammy in 1967, the first of Ms. Ian’s nine nominations. She also had three well-received albums in the early ’70s including Between The Lines (Columbia), which produced the teenage outcast anthem "At Seventeen." The single sold more than a million copies, and Ms. Ian was nominated for five Grammy awards, winning two.
   A plethora of songs, albums and other projects have come in the ’80s and ’90s. Ms. Ian is especially passionate about The Pearl Foundation, which began as an homage to her mother, who went back to school in her 40s and got a degree from Goddard College.
   "We held an online auction — long before eBay — and only expected to make $15,000," she says. "But we raised $75,000 and were able to start five scholarships. People just kept sending money. We became an IRS-approved foundation. We’re just finishing up our seventh scholarship now."
   Designed specifically for students returning to school after an absence of five years, Ms. Ian says "It’s for anyone who might not have been able to finish college, high school or even the lower grades. It’s pretty great to think that with our little seven scholarships, every four years someone will graduate and that will go on as long as the schools exist. That’s a real giving back."
Janis Ian will perform at Grounds For Sculpture, 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton, May 21, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $27, $22 GFS members. For information, call (609) 586-0616, ext. 20. On the Web: www.groundsforsculpture.org. Janis Ian on the Web: www.janisian.com