Friday, May 7, 2010

She learned the truth At Seventeen

Remember Janis Ian?  Hard to believe it has been 44 years since "Society's Child" stirred up the country with lyrics about an interracial romance.  Today she turns 59, which doesn't seem all that old until you consider she was 15 when she recorded the song.

Our favorite song by Ian didn't come until eight years later when she seduced us with the beautiful ballad "At Seventeen," which won a Grammy.  Sweet voice, great songwriter, and yet there's not much to talk about since 1975, except ...  this 2007 video from a Dutch TV program.  Here she performs "At Seventeen" with bass player Richard Bona and reconfirms what we always knew about her and the message she delivered. 

It was long ago and far away, the world was younger than today




Let's break out some SSS bubbly for Ian and the rest of today's Birthday Band, which is quite an impressive gathering:

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Composer
Requiem, Symphony #1 in C Minor, Symphony #4 in E Minor

Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Composer
1812 Overture, Swan Lake, Nutcracker Suite, Romeo and Juliet

Teresa Brewer (1931-2007): Singer
Music, Music, Music, Ricochet, A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl, ’Til I Waltz Again with You

Jimmy Ruffin (1939): Singer
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, Hold on to My Love, There Will Never be Another You

Ricky West (1943): Guitar, The Tremeloes
Twist and Shout, Do You Love Me, Here Comes My Baby, Silence is Golden

Janis Ian (1951): Singer
At Seventeen, Society’s Child

2 comments:

  1. Oh man. Great memories Strumbum...a lump in the throat song for sure. Memories flood back.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Many people think they learn the truth at 17.

    Only to find out otherwise many years later.

    ReplyDelete