• We bring you an article from another of our new writers, Jen Gore. Enjoy, pop pickers!

 
Janis Ian comes to Ireland to play two intimate gigs at the end of this month. For those of you who are thinking, “Isn’t Janis Ian the ‘dyke’ from Mean Girls?” Well, perhaps, but here we’re talking about the Grammy Award winning, musical icon.

Janis Eddy Fink grew up in New York City and started writing music at the age of 12. The first song she wrote was called “Hair of Spun Gold” which appeared on her debut album in 1964. Thinking a stage name would be a good idea, she decided to take her brother’s middle name and present herself as ‘Janis Ian’ to the world.

From a young age it was apparent that Janis was incredibly talented and had an understanding of the racial problems in society. The first hit song she wrote and performed at the age of 13, “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking)”, was about an interracial relationship shunned by friends and family which eventually breaks down because society has forced it to.

The song was a hit after its third release but it was considered too taboo for the liking of some radio stations and they refused to air the song. In fact, Janis even received hate mail and it has been revealed that a radio station was burned down over the song’s lyrics.

Despite the controversy, the song was inducted in to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 because of it’s musical significance and timelessness.

Many thought that after the uproar and success of Society’s Child, that Janis Ian was just a flash in the pan. But in 1975 her biggest hit “At Seventeen” was released and it raised her up to a new level of fame.

“At Seventeen” was a reflection on the downfalls of adolescence, teenage angst and peer pressure. At the time Janis was 24 and in that year she won a Grammy for the Best Pop Vocal Performance. She was also the first musical guest to appear on Saturday Night Live (SNL).

Janis Ian married Tino Sargo in 1978 and they split in 1983. It was revealed in her autobiography, Society’s Child, that Sargo had subjected Janis to emotional and physical abuse. In 1993, after 12 years and with the release of “Breaking Silence”, Janis Ian revealed that she was a lesbian. She had been with a woman named Patricia Snyder since 1989. She said:

Everybody in my family has always known … Everybody in the music industry has known. But it is something I didn’t talk about with the press, or evaded when I was pushed.

Janis and Patricia married in 2003 on 17th August. Janis has a stepdaughter and grandchildren
by Patricia.

Janis Ian continues to write and perform her own music. She is also a columnist, sci-fi
author and has most definitely not appeared in any films with Lindsay Lohan.

• Janis Ian plays The Venue Theatre, Co Meath, on 28th January 2012 (tickets €30) and Vicar Street, Dublin, on 29th January 29th (tickets €36.50).

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