Janis Ian
{{Short description|American singer-songwriter (born 1951)}}
{{About|the singer|the fictional character|Janis Ian (Mean Girls){{!}}Janis Ian (Mean Girls)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Janis Ian
| image = Janis Ian 2.jpg
| caption = Ian performing in concert in Dublin, Ireland, 1981
| birth_name = Janis Eddy Fink
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1951|4|7}}
| birth_place = Farmingdale, New Jersey, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}}
| genre = {{hlist|Folk|soft rock}}
| occupation = Singer-songwriter
| years_active = 1965–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Tino Sargo|1978|1983|end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Patricia Snyder|2003}}
| label = {{hlist|Rude Girl|Columbia|Verve|Windham Hill}}
| website = {{URL|janisian.com}}
}}
Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)"{{Cite web|title=The Song that Made Janis Ian the Most Notorious Folk Singer in America {{!}} WNYC {{!}} New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News|url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/janis-ian-folk-singer/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=WNYC|language=en|archive-date=December 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205102423/https://www.wnyc.org/story/janis-ian-folk-singer/|url-status=live}} and the 1975 Top Ten single "At Seventeen", from her seventh studio album Between the Lines, which in September 1975 reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
Born in Farmingdale, New Jersey, Ian entered the American folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-1960s. Most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century. She has won two Grammy Awards, the first in 1975 for "At Seventeen" and the second in 2013 for Best Spoken Word Album, for her autobiography, Society's Child, with a total of ten nominations in eight different categories.
Ian is a columnist and science fiction author.{{cite web|url=http://www.janisian.com/press/JanisIan2006Bio.pdf|title=Janis Ian: A Life in Song|work=Janis Ian Website|year=2006|access-date=2007-06-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507222117/http://janisian.com/press/JanisIan2006Bio.pdf|archive-date=May 7, 2007}}
Early life
Born in Farmingdale, New Jersey,{{Cite web|last=Ian|first=Janis|title=Janis Ian Through the Years|url=https://www.janisian.com/downloads/janisiantimeline.pdf|url-status=live|website=Janis Ian| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220130215803/https://www.janisian.com/downloads/janisiantimeline.pdf | archive-date=2022-01-30}} Ian was raised on a farm and attended East Orange High School in East Orange, New JerseyNash, Margo. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DC1631F935A25750C0A9659C8B63 "JERSEY FOOTLIGHTS"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708225814/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/nyregion/jersey-footlights.html |date=July 8, 2023 }}, The New York Times, March 16, 2003: "Yet when Janis Ian went to East Orange High School, she was kicked out of the chorus." Retrieved December 19, 2007. and the New York City High School of Music & Art in Manhattan. Both sets of grandparents (from Poland, Ukraine, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan) lived in the New York-New Jersey area, having emigrated via England around 1918.{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XI4-VnSrEcAC&dq=%22janis+ian%22+fink+parents+born&pg=PA137|isbn = 9781584653035|title = Stars of David: Rock'n'roll's Jewish Stories|year = 2003|last1 = Benarde|first1 = Scott R.|access-date = March 19, 2023|archive-date = July 8, 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230708225837/https://books.google.com/books?id=XI4-VnSrEcAC&dq=%22janis+ian%22+fink+parents+born&pg=PA137|url-status = live}} Her parents, Victor, a music teacher, and Pearl, a college fundraiser, were Jewish-born liberal atheists who ran several summer camps in upstate New York.{{Cite news|title='At 60,' Janis Ian is no longer lonely|url=https://www.jpost.com/arts-and-culture/music/at-60-janis-ian-is-no-longer-lonely|access-date=2020-12-09|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com|language=en-US|archive-date=March 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310205238/http://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Music/At-60-Janis-Ian-is-no-longer-lonely|url-status=live}}
As a child, Ian admired the work of folk musicians including Joan Baez and Odetta. Starting with piano lessons at the age of two (at her own insistence), Ian, by the time she entered her teens, was playing the organ, harmonica, French horn, and guitar.Life Magazine, October 27, 1967, p. 53. At the age of 12, she wrote her first song, "Hair of Spun Gold", which was subsequently published in the folk publication Broadside and was later recorded for her eponymous debut album. In 1964, she legally changed her name to Janis Ian, taking her brother Eric's middle name as her new surname.{{cite book|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|title=All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues|publisher=Backbeat Books|year=2003|isbn=0-87930-736-6|editor=Bogdanov, Vladimir|editor2=Woodstra, Chris|editor3=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas}}
Music career
{{BLP sources section|date=August 2023}}
At the age of 14, Ian wrote and recorded her first hit single, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)", about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers. Produced by George "Shadow" Morton and released three times from 1965 to 1967, "Society's Child" became a national hit upon its third release after Leonard Bernstein featured it in a late-April 1967 CBS TV special titled Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution.
The song's theme of interracial relationships was considered taboo by some radio stations, who withdrew or banned it from their playlists accordingly. In her 2008 autobiography Society's Child, Ian recalls receiving hate mail and death threats as a response to the song and mentions that a radio station in Atlanta that played it was burned down.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}} In July 1967, "Society's Child" reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single sold 600,000 copies and the album sold 350,000 copies.
At the age of 16, Ian met comedian Bill Cosby backstage at a Smothers Brothers show where she was promoting "Society's Child". Since she was underage, she was accompanied by a chaperone while touring. After her set, Ian had been sleeping with her head on the lap of her chaperone (an older female family friend). According to Ian in a 2015 interview, she was told by her then manager that Cosby had interpreted their interaction as "lesbian" and as a result "had made it his business" to warn other television shows that Ian wasn't "suitable family entertainment" and "shouldn't be on television" because of her sexuality, thus attempting to blacklist her.{{cite news |last1=Silman |first1=Anna |title=Janis Ian says Bill Cosby spread lesbian rumors about her as a teen, tried to blacklist her from TV |url=http://www.salon.com/2015/07/29/janis_ian_says_bill_cosby_spread_lesbian_rumors_about_her_as_a_teen_tried_to_blacklist_her_from_tv/ |access-date=July 29, 2015 |work=Salon |date=July 29, 2015 |archive-date=July 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731000028/http://www.salon.com/2015/07/29/janis_ian_says_bill_cosby_spread_lesbian_rumors_about_her_as_a_teen_tried_to_blacklist_her_from_tv/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Nate |title=Janis Ian Shares Her Own Creepy Bill Cosby Story |url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/07/janis-ian-shares-her-own-creepy-cosby-story.html |access-date=July 29, 2015 |work=Vulture |date=July 29, 2015 |archive-date=July 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731091059/http://www.vulture.com/2015/07/janis-ian-shares-her-own-creepy-cosby-story.html |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |last1=Goodman |first1=Jessica |title=Janis Ian recalls personal story about Bill Cosby following New York cover feature |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/29/janis-ian-bill-cosby |access-date= July 29, 2015 |issue=July 29, 2015 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} Although Ian would later come out, she states that at the time of the encounter with Cosby she had only been kissed once, by a boy she had a crush on, in broad daylight at summer camp.{{cite web |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/29/folk-singer-janis-ian-bill-cosby-tried-to-ban-me-from-tv-because-he-thought-i-was-gay/ |title=Veteran singer-songwriter Janis Ian has claimed that Bill Cosby tried to get her banned from TV – because he thought she was a lesbian |date=July 29, 2015 |work=Pink News |access-date=May 2, 2020 |last=Duffy |first=Nick |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215041539/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/29/folk-singer-janis-ian-bill-cosby-tried-to-ban-me-from-tv-because-he-thought-i-was-gay/ |url-status=live }}
On her website Ian relates that although "Society's Child" was originally intended for Atlantic Records and the label paid for her recording session, Atlantic subsequently returned the master to her and quietly refused to release it.{{cite web |url=http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/janis_ian/ |title=Janis Ian interview |date=March 14, 2003 |work=Songfacts |access-date=September 27, 2012 |last=Wiser |first=Carl |archive-date=October 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001055149/http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/janis_ian/ |url-status=live }} Ian relates that years later, Atlantic's president at the time, Jerry Wexler, publicly apologized to her for this. The single and Ian's 1967 debut album (which reached No. 29 on the charts) were finally released on Verve Forecast. In 2001, "Society's Child" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which honors recordings considered timeless and important to music history. Her first four albums were released on a double CD entitled Society's Child: The Verve Recordings in 1995.
File:Janis Ian 1.jpg in Dublin, Ireland, May 1981]]
"Society's Child" stigmatized Ian as a one-hit wonder until her most successful US single, "At Seventeen", was released in 1975. "At Seventeen" is a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, the illusion of popularity and teenage angst, from the perspective of a narrator looking back on her earlier experience. The song was a major hit as it charted at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, hit number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and won the 1976 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female, beating out Linda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton-John, Judy Collins and Helen Reddy. Ian appeared as the second musical guest on the series premiere of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975, performing "At Seventeen" and "In the Winter".{{Cite book |last1=Cader |first1=Michael |last2=Baskin |first2=Edie |title=Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=1994 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/saturdaynightliv00cade/page/124 124–127] |isbn=0-395-70895-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/saturdaynightliv00cade/page/124 }}{{Cite web |url=http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75a.phtml |title=SNL Transcripts |work=Snltranscripts.jt.org |access-date=February 28, 2016 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093819/http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75a.phtml |url-status=live }} The album Between the Lines was also a smash and reached number one on Billboard′s album chart. The album would be certified platinum for sales of over one million copies sold in the US. Another measure of her success is anecdotal: on Valentine's Day 1977, Ian received 461 valentine cards, having indicated in the lyrics to "At Seventeen" that she never received one as a teenager.{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Rock Stars |first=Dafydd |last=Rees |author2=Luke Crampton |year=1996 |publisher=Dk Pub |isbn=0-7894-1263-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/dkencyclopediaof00dafy}}
"Fly Too High" (1979), produced by disco producer Giorgio Moroder, was Ian's contribution to the soundtrack of the Jodie Foster film Foxes and was also featured on Ian's 1979 album Night Rains. It also became another international hit, reaching number one in many countries, including South Africa, Belgium, Australia, Israel and the Netherlands, and going gold or platinum in those countries and others. Another country where Ian has achieved a high level of popularity is Japan: Ian had two Top 10 singles on the Japanese Oricon charts, "Love Is Blind" in 1976 and "You Are Love" in 1980. Ian's 1976 album Aftertones also topped Oricon's album chart in October 1976.{{cite web|url=http://www.janisian.com/|title=Janis Ian|publisher=janisian.com|access-date=September 23, 2002|archive-date=April 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410001827/http://www.janisian.com/|url-status=live}} "You Are Love (Toujours Gai Mon Cher)" is the theme song of Kinji Fukasaku's 1980 movie Virus. Ian cut several other singles specifically for the Japanese market, including 1998's "The Last Great Place". In the US, Ian did not chart in the Top 40 on the pop charts after "At Seventeen", though she had several songs reach the Adult Contemporary singles chart through 1980 (all failing to make the Top 20).
Ian started Rude Girl Records, Inc., and its publishing arm, Rude Girl Publishing, on January 2, 1992. Since then, RGR has steadily grown, with its ownership of more than twenty-five Janis Ian albums and DVDs overseas, as well as hundreds of unreleased recordings and videos, including unreleased songs, concerts, demos, and rehearsal tapes. The Rude Girl label oversees the production of Ian's newer work, and in the case of older work, its re-mastering and the re-creation of the original artwork.{{cite web |url=http://www.janisian.com/rudegirlrecords.php |title=Rude Girl Records, Inc. |publisher=janisian.com |access-date=September 8, 2016 |archive-date=September 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917093542/http://www.janisian.com/rudegirlrecords.php |url-status=dead }}
From 1982–92, Ian continued to write songs, often in collaboration with then songwriting partner Kye Fleming, some of which have been covered by Amy Grant, Bette Midler, Marti Jones and other artists. She released Breaking Silence in 1993 and came out as a lesbian.{{cite web |url=http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Keehnen/Ian.html |title=At 42: Lesbian Legend Janis Ian Comes Out |first=Owen |last=Keehnen |date=March 24, 2005 |publisher=Queer Culture Center |access-date=November 15, 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051104135414/http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Keehnen/Ian.html|archive-date = 2005-11-04|url-status = dead}} Other artists have recorded Ian's compositions, including Roberta Flack, who had a hit in 1973 with Ian's song "Jesse", which peaked at #30 on the Hot 100 on October 27, 1973. Ian's own version is included on her 1974 album Stars (the title song of which has also been oft-covered, including versions by Joan Baez, Shirley Bassey, Cher, Nina Simone and Barbara Cook). "At Seventeen" is Ian's most covered composition with 50 versions by artists including Celine Dion, Miki Howard and Julia Fordham. Ian's song "In The Winter" has also been covered many times by singers including Dusty Springfield and Sheena Easton. Richard Barone recorded Ian's song "Sweet Misery" on his album Sorrows & Promises: Greenwich Village in the 1960s in 2016. She continues to tour worldwide, though she stated that her 2022 North-American tour, which was cancelled when a laryngitis diagnosis became severe, would be her "last full tour".{{cite web |url=http://www.janisian.com/ontour.php |title=Janis Ian: On Tour |publisher=janisian.com |access-date=January 20, 2014 |archive-date=January 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106004749/http://www.janisian.com/ontour.php |url-status=dead }} In August 2018 Ian performed at the UK's Cambridge Folk Festival.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/06/cambridge-folk-festival-review-cherry-hinton-hall-rhiannon-giddens-patti-smith-eliza-carthy |title=Cambridge folk festival review – verve and energy in a female-focused weekend |first=Colin |last=Irwin |date=August 6, 2018 |website=The Guardian |access-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815005952/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/06/cambridge-folk-festival-review-cherry-hinton-hall-rhiannon-giddens-patti-smith-eliza-carthy |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/what-s-on/events-and-festivals/cambridge-folk-festival-2018-a-resounding-and-countrified-success-1-5641082 |title=Cambridge Folk Festival 2018 a resounding – and countrified – success |first=Adrian Peel & Mike |last=Scialom |date=August 7, 2018 |access-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-date=August 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816025504/http://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/what-s-on/events-and-festivals/cambridge-folk-festival-2018-a-resounding-and-countrified-success-1-5641082 |url-status=live }}
Criticism of the RIAA
Ian is an outspoken critic of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),{{cite web|url=http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html|title=The Internet Debacle – An Alternative View|first=Janis|last=Ian|work=Performing Songwriter|date=May 2002|access-date=June 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509181400/http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html|archive-date=May 9, 2007}} which she sees as acting against the interests of musicians and consumers. Thus, she has released several of her songs for free download from her website.[http://www.janisian.com/mp3_downloads.html Free Music Downloads] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728220607/http://www.janisian.com/mp3_downloads.html |date=July 28, 2014 }} on Janis Ian's official website "I've been surprised at how few people are willing to get annoyed with me over it," she laughs. "There was a little backlash here and there. I was scheduled to appear on a panel somewhere and somebody from a record company said if I was there they would boycott it. But that's been pretty much it. In general, the entire reaction has been favorable. I hear from a lot of people in my industry who don't want to be quoted, but say 'yeah, we're aware of this and we'd like to see a change too.'"{{cite web|url=http://towerofbabel.com/sections/music/troubadours/janisian/|title=Janis Ian: Doing It From The Heart|first=Jan|last=Vanderhorst|work=Babel|date=October 2002|access-date=June 9, 2007|archive-date=June 23, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623110709/http://towerofbabel.com/sections/music/troubadours/janisian/|url-status=live}} Along with science fiction authors Eric Flint and Cory Doctorow, she has argued that their experience provides conclusive evidence that free downloads dramatically increased hard-copy sales, contrary to the claims of RIAA and NARAS.[http://www.baen.com/library/palaver11.htm Prime Palaver #11] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202111200/http://www.baen.com/library/palaver11.htm |date=February 2, 2007 }} – letter by Janis Ian to Baen librarian, Eric Flint, September 16, 2002
Writing and acting
File:Janis Ian.jpg store book-signing, May 2005]]
Ian writes science fiction. A long-time reader of the genre, she became involved in science fiction fandom in 2001 by attending the Millennium Philcon in Philadelphia. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and with Mike Resnick, she co-edited Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian, an anthology published in 2003. She continues to occasionally go to science fiction conventions.{{cite web|author=John Teehan |url=http://www.sff.net/people/jdteehan/report.html |title=Janis at Worldcon 2001 |publisher=Sff.net |access-date=December 5, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004174619/http://www.sff.net/people/jdteehan/report.html |archive-date=October 4, 2013}} Ian performed at the 2009 Nebula Award Conference in Los Angeles, where she sang "Welcome Home," a version of her song "At Seventeen" with the lyrics changed to talk about the acceptance she found by reading science fiction.{{Citation | last = Ian | first = Janis | title = Welcome Home | newspaper = Argentus | pages = 20 | year = 2009 | url = http://efanzines.com/Argentus/Ag09.pdf | access-date = 2022-03-10 | archive-date = February 17, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220217071300/http://efanzines.com/Argentus/Ag09.pdf | url-status = live }}
Ian was a regular columnist for the LGBT news magazine The Advocate[http://www.oasismag.com/Issues/9603/oasis-coverstory.html "Revenge is sweet for Janis Ian"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021140005/http://www.oasismag.com/Issues/9603/oasis-coverstory.html |date=October 21, 2006 }} by Jeff Walsh, March 1, 1996 and contributed to Performing Songwriter magazine from 1993{{cite magazine |author= |title=Interview with Janis Ian |url=https://performingsongwriter.com/back-issues/1993-back-issues/issue-1-julyaugust-1993/ |magazine=Performing Songwriter |location=United States |date=August 1993 |access-date=14 January 2022|volume=3|issue=1}} to 2006.{{cite magazine |author= |title=Interview with Janis Ian |url=https://performingsongwriter.com/back-issues/2006-back-issues/issue-92-marchapril-2006/ |magazine=Performing Songwriter |location=United States |date=April 2006 |access-date=14 January 2022|issue=92}} On July 24, 2008, Ian released autobiography Society's Child (published by Penguin Tarcher), which was positively received. An accompanying double CD, The Autobiography Collection, has been released with many of Ian's best loved songs.{{Cite web|url=http://www.janisian.com/albums/bestof.php|title=Janis Ian - American songwriter, singer, musician, author and multiple Grammy-winning writer of "At 17," "Jesse" and "Society's Child": Listening Room: Best Of Janis Ian: The Autobiography Collection|last=Ian|first=Janis|website=www.janisian.com|access-date=January 20, 2017|archive-date=1 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201235221/http://www.janisian.com/albums/bestof.php}}
Ian took acting lessons and script interpretation classes from Stella Adler in the early 1980s to help her feel more comfortable on stage, and she and Adler remained close friends until Adler's death in 1992. In December 2015, Ian appeared in the series finale of HBO comedy series Getting On playing a patient who refused to stop singing.{{cite news|last1=Lambe|first1=Stacy|title='Getting On' Creators on Taking Big Swings With the Series Finale|url=http://www.etonline.com/tv/178023_getting_on_creators_on_taking_big_swings_with_the_season_finale/|access-date=February 21, 2016|publisher=ET Online|date=December 14, 2015|archive-date=February 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218205220/http://www.etonline.com/tv/178023_getting_on_creators_on_taking_big_swings_with_the_season_finale/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title="Getting On" from the HBO series "Getting On"|url=http://store.janisianstore.com/mp3gettingon.html|website=Janis Ian Shopping Mall|access-date= February 21, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302093247/http://store.janisianstore.com/mp3gettingon.html|archive-date=March 2, 2016|df=mdy-all}}
Personal life
Ian's mother, Pearl Yadoff Fink, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1975. Because of this, Ian and her brother persuaded their mother to pursue her lifelong dream of going to college. Fink eventually enrolled in Goddard College's adult education program and graduated with a master's degree. After Fink's death in 1997, Ian decided to auction off memorabilia to raise money to endow a scholarship at Goddard specifically for older continuing education students, which became the Pearl Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. At the end of each year, 90% or more of funds raised from sale of merchandise, donations from fans and contributions from Ian herself are disbursed to various educational institutions to fund scholarships.Ian, Janis. 2008. Society's Child: My Autobiography. New York City: Tarcher. {{ISBN|978-1-58542-675-1}}. By 2020, it had endowed more than $1,250,000 in scholarship funds at four schools.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thepearlfoundation.org/|title=Pearl Foundation|access-date=January 25, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202021528/http://www.thepearlfoundation.org/|url-status=live}}
Ian married Portuguese filmmaker Tino Sargo in 1978 and the two divorced in 1983. In her autobiography, Ian accused Sargo of physical and emotional abuse.{{Cite web|url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2011-09-09-ct-ott-0909-janis-ian-20110909-story.html|title = Janis Ian still makes people uneasy|website = Chicago Tribune|date = September 9, 2011|access-date = July 18, 2021|archive-date = July 8, 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230708225830/https://www.chicagotribune.com/|url-status = live}} After moving to Nashville, she met Patricia Snyder in 1989. Ian came out as a lesbian in 1993 with the worldwide release of her album Breaking Silence. Snyder and Ian married in Toronto on August 27, 2003.{{cite web|url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/ian_j.html|title=Ian profile|publisher=Glbtq.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018224416/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/ian_j.html|archive-date=October 18, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=December 5, 2013}} Ian has a stepdaughter and two grandchildren with Snyder.{{cite news |last=Sohn |first=Amy |date=2015-09-10 |title=Janis Ian and Patricia Snyder's Relationship Builds Upon Decades of Social Upheaval | work= New York Times | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/fashion/weddings/janis-ian-and-patricia-snyders-relationship-builds-upon-decades-of-social-upheaval.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914041404/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/fashion/weddings/janis-ian-and-patricia-snyders-relationship-builds-upon-decades-of-social-upheaval.html?_r=0|archive-date=2015-09-14 | url-status=live | access-date=2022-08-09 }}
Discography
=Studio albums=
class="wikitable" |
align="left" rowspan="2"|Year
!align="left" rowspan="2"|Title !align="left" colspan="6"|Chart positions !align="left" rowspan="2"|Label |
---|
style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|US}}
! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|AUS}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|CAN}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|JPN}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|NLD}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|UK}} |
1967
| style="text-align:center;"| 29 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;rowspan=" 4" |Verve Forecast |
1967
|For All the Seasons of Your Mind | style="text-align:center;"| 179 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
1968
| The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
1969
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
1971
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| Capitol |
1974
| Stars | style="text-align:center;"| 63 | style="text-align:center;"| 82 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | rowspan="7" style="text-align:center;" | Columbia |
1975
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| 22 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
1976
| style="text-align:center;" | 12 | style="text-align:center;" | 45 | style="text-align:center;" | 81{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4111b.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4111b.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| title=RPM Top 100 Albums - April 7, 1976}} | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | style="text-align:center;" | 23 | style="text-align:center;" | — |
1977
| style="text-align:center;" | 45 | style="text-align:center;" | 58 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | 26 | style="text-align:center;" | 20 | style="text-align:center;" | — |
1978
| style="text-align:center;" | 120 | style="text-align:center;" | 97 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |
1979
| style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | 11 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | style="text-align:center;" | — |
1981
| style="text-align:center;" | 156 | style="text-align:center;" | 57 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | 15 | style="text-align:center;" | — |
1985
| style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | 93 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | Interfusion |
1992
| style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | Morgan Creek |
1995
|Revenge{{efn|At this time, Ian made a parody version of Revenge under the name Simon Renshaw Presents: Janis Ian Shares Your Pain as a private joke and prank on her manager, Simon Renshaw. The album was later{{when|We don't know when. There is an unreliable source that says 2001. But possibly December 2009, or some other time|date=December 2023}} released publicly on iTunes; it's never been released on CD.{{fact|date=December 2023}}}} | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | 81 | style="text-align:center;" | Beacon |
1997
| style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Windham Hill/Rude Girl |
2000
| style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |
2001
|Lost Cuts 1 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | Rude Girl |
2004
|Billie's Bones | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |
2006
|Folk Is the New Black | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |
2014
|Strictly Solo{{efn|Available only at live shows.}} | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |
2020
|Hope | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |
2022
|The Light at the End of the Line{{Cite web|title=The Light At The End Of The Line – Janis Ian®|url=https://janisian.com/music/the-light-at-the-end-of-the-line/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-06|website=The Official Website of Janis Ian|language=en-US | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220121172406/https://janisian.com/music/the-light-at-the-end-of-the-line/ | archive-date=2022-01-21}} | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |
=Live albums=
class="wikitable" |
align="center" |Year
! align="left" |Title ! align="left" |Label |
---|
style="text-align:center;" |1978
|orig. JVC Japan, now Rude Girl |
style="text-align:center;" |1996
|Live On the Test 1976 |BBC World Wide |
style="text-align:center;" |1999
|The Bottom Line Encore Collection |The Bottom Line Record Company |
style="text-align:center;" |2003
|Live: Working Without a Net |Rude Girl/Oh Boy |
style="text-align:center;" |2023
|Live at The Calderone Theater 1975 |Rude Girl |
=Compilation albums=
class="wikitable" |
rowspan="2" align="left" |Year
! rowspan="2" align="left" |Title ! colspan="2" align="left" |Chart positions ! rowspan="2" align="left" |Label |
---|
style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|AUS}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|NLD}} |
1970
|Golden Archive Series: Janis Ian | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |MGM Records |
1977
|Best of Janis Ian | style="text-align:center;" |69 | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |Interfusion |
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |1980
|The Best of Janis Ian | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |CBS Benelux |
My Favourites
| style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |5 |
1990
|At Seventeen | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |CBS |
1992
|Up 'Til Now - The Best of Janis Ian{{efn|A limited-edition two-CD combining Up 'Til Now - The Best of Janis Ian with Breaking Silence was issued by Sony in 1993.}} | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |18 | style="text-align:center;" |Sony |
1995
|Society's Child: The Verve Recordings | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— |
1998
|Unreleased 1: Mary's Eyes | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" |Rude Girl |
2000
|Unreleased 2: Take No Prisoners | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— |
2001
|Unreleased 3: Society's Child | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— |
2002
|The Best of Janis Ian | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |Festival Australia |
2004
|Souvenirs: Best of 1972–1981 | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |Rude Girl |
2007
|Ultimate Best | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |JVC Victory |
2008
|Best of Janis Ian: Autobiography Collection | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |Rude Girl |
2009
|The Essential Janis Ian | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Columbia/Legacy/Rude Girl |
2011
|Playlist: The Very Best of Janis Ian | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— |
2017
|The Essential Janis Ian 2.0 | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |Sony (worldwide) |
2023
|Worktapes & Demos, Vol. 1 | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |Rude Girl |
=Singles=
class="wikitable" |
align="left" rowspan="2"|Year
!align="left" rowspan="2"|Titles (A-side, B-side) ! colspan="9" align="left" |Chart positions !align="left" rowspan="2"|Album |
---|
style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|US Billboard}}
! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|US Cash Box}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|US A/C}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|CAN}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|AUS}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|SA}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|UK}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|NLD}} ! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|{{small|JPN}} |
rowspan=3|1967
|align="left"|"Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" | style="text-align:center;"| 14 | style="text-align:center;"| 13 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | 13{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.10081.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.10081.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - July 22, 1967}} | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"|Janis Ian (Verve Forecast) |
align="left"|"Younger Generation Blues" b/w "I'll Give You a Stone If You'll Throw It" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
align="left"|"Insanity Comes Quietly to the Structured Mind" b/w "Sunflakes Fall, Snowrays Call" | style="text-align:center;"| 109 | style="text-align:center;"| 82 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"|...For All The Seasons Of Your Mind |
rowspan=3|1968
|align="left"|"A Song for All the Seasons of Your Mind" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
align="left"|"Friends Again" b/w "Lady of the Night" (Non-album track) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left"|The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink |
align="left"|"Janey's Blues" b/w "Everybody Knows" (from The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left"|Janis Ian (Verve Forecast) |
| 1969
|align="left"|"Calling Your Name" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left"|Who Really Cares |
| 1971
|align="left"|"He's a Rainbow" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left"|Present Company |
| 1974
|align="left"|"The Man You Are in Me" | style="text-align:center;"| 104 | style="text-align:center;"| 105 | style="text-align:center;"| 33 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left"|Stars |
rowspan=3|1975
|align="left"|"When the Party's Over" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 112 | style="text-align:center;"| 20 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="3"|Between the Lines |
align="left"|"At Seventeen" b/w "Stars" (from Stars) | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 23 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 54{{Efn|Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List".|name=|group=}} | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
align="left"|"In the Winter" b/w "Thankyous" (from Stars) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 97 | style="text-align:center;"| 21 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan=5|1976
|align="left"|"Boy I Really Tied One On" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 43 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| 50 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="4"|Aftertones |
align="left"|"I Would Like to Dance" b/w "Goodbye To Morning" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 28 | style="text-align:center;" | 86{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4138b.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4138b.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - June 12, 1976}} | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
align="left"|"Roses" b/w "Love Is Blind" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 37 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
align="left"|"Love Is Blind" b/w "Miracle Row" (from Miracle Row) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 1 |
align="left"|"Between the Lines" b/w "Sweet Sympathy" (from Stars) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 90 | align="left"|Between The Lines |
rowspan=3|1977
|align="left"|"Miracle Row" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="3"|Miracle Row |
align="left"|"I Want to Make You Love Me" b/w "Candlelight" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
align="left"|"Will You Dance?" b/w "I Want to Make You Love Me" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 40 |
rowspan="2"| 1978
|align="left"|"That Grand Illusion" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 43 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"|Janis Ian (Columbia) |
align="left"|"The Bridge" b/w "Do You Wanna Dance" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan=2|1979
|align="left"|"Here Comes the Night" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"|Night Rains |
align="left"|"Fly Too High" b/w "Night Rains" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 44 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan=2|1980
|align="left"|"You Are Love" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | align="left"|"Virus" soundtrack (Japan release only) |
align="left"|"The Other Side of the Sun" b/w "Memories" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 47 | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| 44 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 44 | style="text-align:center;"| 30 | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left"|Night Rains |
rowspan=2|1981
|align="left"|"Under the Covers" | style="text-align:center;"| 71 | style="text-align:center;"| 79 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"|Restless Eyes |
align="left"|"Restless Eyes" b/w "I Remember Yesterday" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan=2|1985
|"Body Slave (Re-Mix)" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"|Uncle Wonderful |
"Heart Skip Too Many Beats" b/w "Sniper of the Heart" (Australia/New Zealand) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
1989
|"Heaven Knows" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | Non-album track |
rowspan=2|1992
|"Days Like These" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
"Walking On Sacred Ground" b/w "Cosmopolitan Girl (Live)" & "When He Was Here (Live)" (Europe) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="3"|Breaking Silence |
rowspan=2|1993
|"Tattoo" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
"Guess You Had To Be There" b/w "Breaking Silence" (Europe) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan=2|1995
|"Tenderness" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"| Revenge |
"Take Me Walking in the Rain" b/w "When the Silence Fall" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
1997
|"Honor Them All" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"| Hunger |
1998
|"Getting Over You" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
2000
|"Jolene" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | God and the FBI |
rowspan=3|2006
|"The Great Divide" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"| Folk Is the New Black |
"Standing In the Shadows of Love" b/w "All Those Promises" & "Crocodile Song" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
"Married In London"
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="3"| Non-album track |
rowspan=2|2010
|"Welcome Home (The Nebulas Song)" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
align="left"|"Every Woman's Song" (with Angela Aki){{cite web | url=http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/AngelaAki/info/350743 | title=ジャニス・イアンとの夢のコラボ曲「Every Woman's Song」が 着うた(R)、着うたフル(R)で好評配信中! |trans-title=Janis Ian dream collabo song, "Every Woman's Song" out as a ringtone and a cellphone download! | language=ja |publisher=Sony Music Japan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531133644/http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/AngelaAki/info/350743 |archive-date=May 31, 2014 |date=September 1, 2010 | access-date=June 1, 2014}}{{cite magazine | title=Japan Billboard Hot 100 2010/09/20| url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=hot100&year=2010&month=09&day=20 | magazine=Billboard |language=ja | date=September 20, 2009 | access-date=March 5, 2014}}
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 53 |
2012
|"The Tiny Mouse" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | The Tiny Mouse Book/CD |
2013
|"Architect of All Creation" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | The Singer & the Song audiobook |
rowspan=3|2014
|"I'm Still Standing" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="3"| Strictly Solo |
"Society's Child (Solo Acoustic)"
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
"At Seventeen (Solo Acoustic)"
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
2015
|"Getting On" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan=3|2017
|"1776" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | Non-album track |
"Perfect Little Girl"
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="3"|The Light at the End of the Line |
"Swannanoa"
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
2019
|"Resist" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan=2|2020
|"Amazing Grace" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"| Non-album track |
"Better Times Will Come" with Neil Finn
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan=3|2021
|"I Am the One" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" rowspan="2"| Hope |
"A Thousand Years"
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
"Today You're Mine (Unplugged 2007)"
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | align="left" | Non-album track |
2024
|"When He Was Here" | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |Non-album track |
2024
|"Swannanoa" (re-release) | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |
2025
|"One in a Million" (Live, with Joan Baez) | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — | style="text-align:center;" | — |Non-album track |
=Video albums=
class="wikitable" |
align="left" |Year
! align="left" |Title ! align="left" |Format ! align="left" |Label |
---|
style="text-align:center;" |1994
|Live at the Forum (Japan) |Laserdisc |Midi Inc. |
style="text-align:center;" |2004
|Live at Club Cafe |DVD |Rude Girl |
style="text-align:center;" |2004
|Janismania |DVD |Rude Girl |
style="text-align:center;" |2007
|Through the Years: A Retrospective |DVD |Rude Girl |
style="text-align:center;" |2007
|'79: Live In Japan & Australia |DVD |Rude Girl |
style="text-align:center;" |2008
|DVD |Rude Girl |
=Film=
class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ |
scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes ! class=unsortable|Ref. |
---|
2025
! scope="row" | Janis Ian: Breaking Silence | Herself | Documentary |
Bibliography
- Who Really Cares: Poems From Childhood and Early Youth, 1969 (2002 re-release), {{ISBN|978-1-930709-37-9}}
- Songbook, 1999, {{ISBN|978-0-7692-0148-1}}
- Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian, 2003, {{ISBN|978-0-7564-0177-1}} (ed., with Mike Resnick)
- "Prayerville", 2003, in Mike Resnick and Martin H. Greenberg (eds), Women Writing Science Fiction As Men, {{ISBN|978-0-7564-0148-1}}
- Society's Child: My Autobiography, 2008, Tarcher/Penguin; {{ISBN|1-58542-675-X}}; {{ISBN|978-1-58542-675-1}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Janis Ian}}
- {{official website|http://janisian.com/}}
- {{Gutenberg author | id=1083| name=Janis Ian}}
- {{Internet Archive author |sname=Janis Ian |sopt=t}}
- {{LCAuth|n82139099|Janis Ian|55|}}
- {{ISFDB name|11036}}
- [http://www.songwriter.co.uk/page703.html Interview with Janis Ian in International Songwriters Association's "Songwriter Magazine"]
{{Janis Ian}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Janis Ian
|list =
{{Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album 2010s}}
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