Winner of the 2013 Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album
Janis Ian was catapulted into the spotlight in 1966 at age fifteen, when
her soul-wrenching song about an interracial relationship, "Society's
Child," became a hit. The song climbed the charts despite the fact that
many radio stations across the country refused to play it because of its
controversial subject matter. But this was only the beginning of a long
and illustrious career. Society's Child is Ian's fascinating personal
account of her more than forty years in the music business.
In 1975, Ian's legendary "At Seventeen" earned two Grammy Awards and
five nominations. Her next two albums brought her worldwide platinum
hits. But after seven albums in as many years, she made a conscious
decision to walk away from the music business and devote herself to
writing. During this period, she struggled through a difficult marriage
that ended with her then husband's attempt to destroy her, and a sudden
illness that very nearly cost her her life. The hiatus from music lasted
for close to a decade until, in 1993, Ian returned with the release of
the Grammy-nominated Breaking Silence, and she has been making
unforgettable music ever since. In Society's Child, she provides a
relentlessly honest account of the successes and failures, the hopes and
dreams, of an extraordinary life.
