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 the next morning.
The record company didn’t make her change her last name - she did it herself when she was thirteen. She picked Ian because it was her brother’s middle name, and changed it legally the minute she was old enough.
She did not graduate from New York’s H.S. of usic & Art. She attended for six months, until the principal asked her to leave. She finds it ironic that they now claim her as a “success story”. She did not graduate from high school; she has a 10th grade education. She did not go to Swathmore as has been reported.
She did turn down Woodstock (“although maybe I was there and just don’t remember.”) She also turned down The Graduate, on the advice of her agents, Hal Ray & David Geffen. 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. Tina Fey honored her by naming a character "Janis Ian" in her film Mean Girls.
In 1978 Janis married a Portuguese man named Tino Sargo; they had no children, and divorced after five years. She and her partner, Patricia, have been together since 1989, and were married in Toronto in 2003. They celebrate their own anniversary every December 4th.
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.
Yes she did know Jimi. Yes she did know "the other Janis." Yes she knew a lot of 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 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 the New York State Senate in 2006 for her civil rights work.
Honored by Queen Beatrice of Holland for "extraordinary artistic contributions".
Honored by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) for "extraordinary contributions".
Honored by the Elton John Foundation, and by NGLTF, for her AIDs work. (headlined first AIDs benefit in NY, first AIDs benefit in Nashville, first pediatric AIDs benefit nationwide).
Honored by LSU, California for her "artistic contributions".
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 for her efforts on behalf of gay rights, and her AIDs work.
ASCAP awards for Jesse, At Seventeen. BMI award for Society’s Child.
Former monthly columnist for Performing Songwriter magazine (eight years)
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, 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
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
The Monkey’s Mask (1999) Fly Too High remix
The Little Photographer (1999) Society’s Child
Okay, we stopped keeping track around here....
A few television shows that have used Janis' work: America's Most Wanted (Breaking Silence); All My Children (The Last Comeback and Hunger); Dawson's Creek (Days Like These and Getting Over You)); Freedom Sings (Society's Child); Get Real (On the Other Side); General Hospital (When Angels Cry featured in six seperate episodes); Tracy Ullman; The Simpsons; The Grammy Nominations Special (Celine Dion singing At Seventeen).
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)
McDonald’s (first Egg McMuffin campaign)
Nescafe Coffee (theme song)
Fujifilm, JT Products, Ubacha tea Japan (theme songs)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1963 - Writes first song, "Hair of Spun Gold."
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 receives 5 Grammy nods, winning Best Pop Female Performance and Best Engineering.
1976 - "Love is Blind" hits #1 in Japan for 6 months; the album is #1 for a year.
1977 - "Will You Dance" is #1 in Japan for 3 months; the album is #1 for 6 months.
1978 - Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Duet on "Silly Habits" with Mel Torme.
1979 - Fly Too High" is #1 in 9 countries, top 20 in U.S.
1982 - Sesame Street children's record In Harmony II, featuring "Ginny the Flying Girl," wins Grammy.
1992 - After 10 year hiatus, emerges with Grammy nominated Best Contemporary Folk Album Breaking Silence.
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 Madison Square Garden.
2000 - Signs deal with Hawk Publishing for re-issue of her poetry book Who Really Cares, originally published in 1967.
2001 First short story published on fictionwise.com, entitled Waterskiing Down the Styx, co-written with Mike Resnick.
2002 - Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Society's Child".
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.
2007 - Society's Child: My Autobiography released to rave reviews, accompanied by the first-ever "best of Janis Ian" double-CD set.
2008 - "At Seventeen" is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
PARTIAL LIST OF ARTISTS WHO'VE RECORDED JANIS' SONGS
Elisabeth Andreasson, Angela Aki, Chet Atkins, Charles Aznavour, Joan Baez, Suzi Beatty, Glen Campbell, Cher, Chicago, Cynthia Clawson, Barbara Cook, Charlie Daniels, Holly Dunn, Sheena Easton, Roberta Flack, Ronnie Gilbert, Amy Grant, Lee Greenwood, Nanci Griffith, Etta James, 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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