I’m going to try to upgrade this to WordPress 2.6 this evening, so it may disappear.
Until then some history, and music. Music history?
On my way home from a meeting I was listening to NPR, featuring Janis Ian.
I know, the first EMO’er with “At Seventeen” right? A song by the way it took her three months to write, and which she knew would be a hit as soon as she wrote it. Unlike this little ditty written, according to the NPR show, after seeing an interracial couple on a bus, observing all the horrified looks and listening to all the nasty comments. There are several versions of the history of this song, but either way she wrote it when she was 15, in 1965, it was not autobiographical. I believe it was on her debut album.
According to Wikipedia /Janis Ian
At the age of fifteen, Ian wrote and sang 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; the girl ultimately decides to end the relationship, claiming the societal norms of the day have left her no other choice. Produced by melodrama specialist George “Shadow” Morton and released three times between 1965 and 1967, “Society’s Child” finally became a national hit the third time it was released, after Leonard Bernstein featured it in a TV special titled Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution.[2] The song’s lyrical content was too taboo for some radio stations, and they withdrew or banned it from their playlists accordingly. In the summer of 1967, “Society’s Child” reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Society’s Child” was too hot for Atlantic Records as well at the time. Ian relates on her website that although the song was originally intended for Atlantic and the label paid for her recording session, the label subsequently returned the master to her and quietly refused to release it. Years later, Ian says, Atlantic’s president at the time, Jerry Wexler, publicly apologized to her for this. The single and Ian’s 1967 eponymous debut album were finally released on Verve Forecast; her album was also a hit, reaching #12. In 2001, “Society’s Child” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which honors recordings considered timeless and important to music history.
Society’s Child
Interesting for the visual.
Better Audio:
As someone who’s been part of three interracial couplings, this is an amazing find, Miss Cooper.
You welcome. Did you pick up your award below? Or were you just speechless?
n the summer of 1967, “Society’s Child” reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
When it was released in NY it was played on NPR and album oriented rock
My sister heard the interview and said she sounded “like an old Jewish woman” Then my sister wondered what she sounds like
As a footnote Janis Ian played the last concert at The World Trade Center. My friend and I were going to take his daughters to show them what the “original whiny folk singer” sounded like but of course never got around to it
The original whiny folk singer – exactly, aka the first EMO’er.
I loved finding that song though.
How do you know this stuff, Cooper? I didn’t know this stuff and that’s the generation right before me. Amazing. Thanks for the treat.
I didn’t know it, except the “At Seventeen”, which I think every generation has heard. I was listening to NPR ,so I looked up the song when I came home.
Sadly I’m not as full of knowledge of trivia as one might think.
I’ve never heard that song. I’ve heard “At Seventeen”.
Thanks for this it was interesting. The second one definitely has better sound, but the first one is a nice piece of time.
I thought it was interesting, worth a quick post.
Good Friday to you Cooper! I am thrilled to actually be on chill today, it’s been so long I think that my chillin’ skills are slack.
I very vaguely remember Ian and this song, which is odd because I’ve always been on top of what’s going on musically. Loved the song and feel of it though. Great music factoid.
I’m off today as well and got to run for a couple of hours this morning, beautiful here. You enjoy your chill.. I’d never really heard of the song or if I had it slipped by, until yesterday.
I chickened out on the upgrade, but I’m working my way up to it.
Oh, and good look on the WordPress upgrade!
I’ve heard the song before, enough to recognize the melody.
Never listened to the words, or knew it was written by a 15 year old in 1965.
I knew zilch about Janis Ian. Until now. Cool.
That’s a song I’ve not heard much of..Great find. I should listen to NPR more often.