Illustration by Patricia Snyder
janis ian dot com

Ephemera

Awards Film Credits Career Highlights

INCORRECT ASSUMPTIONS AND INFORMATION


She was not born in New York. She is not from New York. She was born in a Bronx hospital and moved to her parent’s farm in South New Jersey immediately after. The record company didn’t make her change her last name - she did it herself when she was thirteen and began performing (“I wanted my own name, my own legacy. I was very young.”)

Yes, her birth name was Janis Eddy Fink after her father’s cousin (“...who died at thirteen - I used to worry about that”). She picked Ian because it was her brother’s middle name, not because of James Bond and Ian Fleming (“My mother said she would divorce me if I became Jasmine Thompson like I wanted”). She changed it legally as soon as she could.

She did not graduate from New York’s High School of Music & Art. She attended for six months, during most of which she was on the road. She was asked to leave during 10th grade. She finds it ironic that they now claim her as a “success story”. She did not graduate from high school. She did not go to Swathmore.

She did turn down Woodstock (“although maybe I was there and just don’t remember!”)
She did turn down The Graduate, on the advice of her agents (“Don’t ask!”) For more, see the article “Monumental Mistakes”.

She was the first performer to sing on Saturday Night Live, on their very first show. (“I saw this Jim guy playing with puppets behind a big wall and thought ‘Oh great, what have I gotten myself into now?’”) She did the show with strep throat and a fever of 103.

She was not married four times, as has been reported in the press. (“Oh, for Pete’s sake!”) She was married once, to a Portuguese man named Tino Sargo; they married in 1978 and separated in 1983.

She has no children.

Vance Gilbert is not her son by Jimi Hendrix. Nor is he her son by Richie Havens, even though all three of them are good friends. Society’s Child was not written about Vance, but he is a very good writer and performer even without her genes.

Yes she did know Jimi. Yes she did know Janis Joplin. Yes she knew a lot of other famous dead people. No she does not like talking about them.

Her birthday is not May 7th, it’s April 7th. That makes her a triple Aries, for those of you who care.

She has lived in Nashville, TN. since 1988. She & her partner Pat have been together since 1989. Pat has very little patience with the music industry, will not sign autographs, & loathes having her picture taken. She is an oasis of sanity.

Janis has no hobbies, although she sometimes wonders if life would be easier if she’d been an archaeologist. She does, however, read an awful lot, mostly science fiction. She lives for used bookstores.

If you want to make her happy, bring her a book.

 

AWARDS, HONORS, AND STUFF
Grammy Awards 1975: “Best pop female vocalist- At Seventeen” and “Best engineered recording- Between the Lines”


Grammy Nomination 1993: “Best Folk Performance- Breaking Silence”


Grammy Nomination 1981: “Best Children’s Recording - Sesame Street: In House” for Ginny the Flying Girl.


Grammy nomination 1978: “Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group - Silly Habits”with Mel Torme, from the album Mel Torme & Friends.


Grammy nominations 1975: “Album of the Year -Between the Lines”, “Song of the Year - At Seventeen”, and “Record of the Year - At Seventeen”.


Grammy nomination 1966: “Best Folk Performance- Janis Ian”.


Honored by Queen Beatrice of Holland for extraordinary artistic contributions.


Honored by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) for extraordinary contributions.


Honored by Elton John Foundation for AIDs work.


Honored by LSU, California for artistic contributions.


Honored by NGLTF for AIDs work (headlined first AIDs benefit in NY, first AIDs benefit in Nashville, first pediatric AIDs benefit nationwide).


Honored by Middle Tennessee University for a lifetime of commitment to education and diversity in the arts.


Honored by Women’s Center of Los Angeles for creative excellence and integrity.


Honored by Human Rights Campaign Fund, Nashville.


ASCAP awards for Jesse, At Seventeen BMI award for Society’s Child.


Monthly columnist for Performing Songwriter magazine


Former monthly columnist for The Advocate (five years).


Regular lecturer (Master Classes) Berklee College, Boston; yearly lecturer (Art of Performing, Art of Songwriting, Master Class in Artistry) for same.


Guest lecturer for Belmont University, Learning Annex Los Angeles & San Francisco, Virgnia State Thespian Conference, and various other institutions and schools.

FILM & TELEVISION PROJECTS

Four Rode Out (1967) starring Sue Lyons & Pernell Roberts; title & score + 4 songs.

Sunday Father (1968) directed by Paul Leaf, starring Dustin Hoffman; title & score + 6 songs.

Japanese TV show “Goodbye Mama”, ran for 5 years Love Is Blind

Japanese TV show "Kishibe No Album”, ran for 5 years Will You Dance

The Bell Jar (1978) starring Julie Harris; title + theme Here Comes the Night.

Betrayal (1979) title, theme, 2 additional songs.

Foxes (1979) directed by Adrian Lyme, starring Jodie Foster; title Fly Too High.

Virus (1980) title When the Rainbow’s Gone and theme You Are Love.

Freedom (1981) ABC TV Movie Of the Week starring Mare Winningham; theme, title + six songs.

Murder She Wrote (1988) two songs Charm the Skin Off A Snake & Lucky.

Falling From Grace (1990) directed by John Mellencamp; Days Like These

The Simpsons (1995) one song in two episodes.

Tracy Ullman (1996) two songs in two episodes.

General Hospital (1996) featured When Angels Cry in 6 separate episodes.

All My Children (1998) Hunger

Kishenobo (weekly Japanese television drama) (1998/1999) theme song Will You Dance?

Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999) top At Seventeen

Desert Blue (1999) end title Sweet Misery

Two Guys & A Girl TV series (1999) one song

Popular (1999) one song

Fuji Film, Japan (1999) 1 year television commercial; theme song Will You Dance?

The Monkey’s Mask (1999) Fly Too High remix

The Little Photographer (1999) Society’s Child

Dawson’s Creek (1999) Getting Over You

Get Real (2000) On the Other Side

Freedom Sings (2000) Society’s Child

Dawson’s Creek (2000) Days Like These

All My Children (2000) The Last Comeback

America’s Most Wanted (2001) Breaking Silence

COMMERCIALS
(SINGER AND/OR WRITER)

Coca-Cola “It’s The Real Thing” campaign
AT&T “Reach Out & Touch Someone” campaign
Budweiser Light (first radio campaign)
Fuji film, Japan (theme song)
McDonald’s (first Egg McMuffin campaign)
Nescafe Coffee (theme song)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

1967 - "Society's Child" hits #1/ nominated for Grammy - Best Folk Album

1974 - Roberta Flack hits top 10 with "Jesse". Years later Puff Daddy samples it on "Pain".

1975 - Between the Lines recieves 5 Grammy nods, winning Best Bop Female Performance and Best Engineering.

1976 - "Love is Blind" hits #1 in Japan for 6 months

1977 - "Will You Dance" #1 in Japan for 3 months

1978 - Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Duet on "Silly Habits" with Mel Torme.

1979 - Fly Too High" is #1 in 7 countries, top 20 in U.S.

1982 - Wins Grammy for children's record IN Harmony II.

1992 - After 10 year hiatus, emerges with Grammy nominated Best Contemporary Folk Album Breaking Silence.

1997 - Signs 7 album deal with BMG/Windham Hill

1998 - Raises $73,000 in online auction of her personal memorabilia to fund The Pearl Foundation Scholarship Fund in memory of her mother.

1999 - Headlines with Jewel, Paula Cole and Phoebe Snow at Zero Population Growth benefit in MAdison Square Garden.

2000 - Signed deal with Hawk Publishing for re-issue of her poetry book Who Really Cares, originally published in 1967 by Dial Press. Reissue includes a new Foreword as well as poems not included in the original version. Extensive touring in the U.S>, U.K., Eire, Scotland, and Holland

2001 First short story published on fictionwise.com, entitled Waterskiing Down the Styx, co-written with Mike Resnick. Toured Australia to great acclaim. Performed over 110 live performances, a career record for one year.

2002 - Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for Society's Child.

2002 - Days Like These licensed for use in HBO's original series OZ and American Embassy.

2003 - Signed contracts with various manufacturers ensuring the the entire back catalogue would be available worldwide.

2003 - Authored "The Internat Debacle: An Alternate View" for Performing Songwriter, which is quickly released to the internet and sparks a firestorm of controversy. Article is quickly "Slashdotted, is posted on over 1,000 websites, , is translated into nine languages, and featured on the BBC and TechTV.

2003 - First graduating class of Pearl Foundation recipients.

JANIS’ SONGS HAVE BEEN RECORDED BY (partial list):
Elisabeth Andreasson, Chet Atkins, Charles Aznavour, Joan Baez, Suzi Beatty, Glen Campbell, Cher, Chicago, Cynthia Clawson, Barbara Cook, Charlie Daniels, Roberta Flack,Kye Fleming, Ronnie Gilbert, Amy Grant, Lee Greenwood, Nanci Griffith,
Michael Johnson, Marti Jones, Ute Lemper, Eddie Marnay, Hugh Masakela, Kathy Mattea, John Mellencamp, Bette Midler, Misao, Buddy Mondlock, Nana Mouskouri,Nick Mundy, Holly Near, Maura O’Connell, Maria Ortiz, Michele Pilar, Puff Daddy, Katja Riemann, Judy Rodman, Diane Schuur, Marilyn Sellars, Nina Simone, Spooky Tooth, Dusty Springfield, Jeff Stevens & The Bullets, Lisa Stewart, Russ Taff, Mel Torme, Conny V.D.Bos, Vanilla Fudge, Cheryl Wheeler, Windows, Mare Winningham, Phil Woods, Michelle Wright.

 

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