Janis Ian

Janis Ian Artistfacts

  • April 7, 1951
  • Janis grew up in an all-black neighborhood in East Orange, New Jersey. With the exception of a weekly Folk music program, all she listened to for years was an R&B station out of Newark. It wasn't until she was 13 or 14 that she started listening to The Beach Boys and The Beatles.
  • Her birth name was Janis Eddy Fink. She changed it when she was 13 and started performing. "Ian" is her brother's middle name.
  • She was a big part of the New York City folk scene at a very young age. Her first single, "Society's Child," was a hit when she was 15.
  • She took piano lessons when she was 2, but gave it up. By the time she was 10, she was teaching herself how to play guitar.
  • In 1971, she became the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live. She had strep throat and a fever that night.
  • She turned down a slot at the original Woodstock.
  • A prolific songwriter, Roberta Flack had a hit with her song "Jesse" in 1973. Janis has also written commercial jingles, including songs for McDonalds, AT&T, Budweiser, and Coke.
  • Janis has written many magazine articles, including a regular column for Performing Songwriter magazine. She got a lot of attention for taking the stand that Internet file sharing is good for most musicians. She has sold a lot more records and merchandise since Napster and other services have made her songs available for download.
  • She started the Pearl Foundation (named after her mother) to offer scholarships for college.
  • In 2003, she married her girlfriend: Nashville defense lawyer Patricia Snyder. The ceremony took place in Toronto, where gay marriages are legal. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France, for 2

Comments: 1

  • Kristen from Alhambra, Casublime lives everytime you play a song and hear bradlys vioce.or even in ur heart and soul.he lives!!!!!!
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