Janis Ian to Read and Perform at The Clark

Janis Ian (photo Peter Cunningham)

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) – Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Janis Ian comes to The Clark for a free book reading on Thursday, April 19, 2012, at 5:30 pm, and a concert on Friday, April 20, at 8 pm. Ian’s breakthrough hit, “Society’s Child (Baby, I’ve Been Thinking),” written about interracial romance when she was just 13 years old, introduced the formidable talent to the world in 1967 – with the essential helping hand of Leonard Bernstein, who featured it in a TV special with the quaint title, Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution – and Ian has received critical acclaim for her boundary-breaking music ever since. Ian scored her biggest commercial hit, the Grammy Award-winning song “At Seventeen,” in 1975.

Tickets to the concert are $40 ($38 for members and $35 for students) and may be purchased online at www.clarkart.edu or by calling 413 458 0524.

Janis Ian wrote her first song in 1965 at the age of twelve and recorded her first album for Verve-Folkways, which featured her first hit, “Society’s Child.” The song ignited controversy from coast to coast, resulting in the burning of a radio station and the firing of disc jockeys who played it.

Ian is the writer of “Jesse,” a song recorded by so many others that few remember Ian wrote it; “Stars,” about the life of a performer, recorded by artists as diverse as Mel Torme and Cher; and the seminal “At Seventeen,” a song that brought her five Grammy nominations (the most any solo female artist had ever garnered) and was elected into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Janis Ian (photo Peter Cunningham)

Ian has performed in sold-out concert halls throughout the world, from Holland and the United Kingdom to Australia and Japan, and her countless television appearances include a performance as the musical guest on the first episode of Saturday Night Live. In addition to her celebrated albums – including Stars, Night Rains, and Breaking Silence – Ian is the author of an autobiography, articles and short stories, and songs for film and television. Her book, Society’s Child: My Autobiography, has been called “a juicily entertaining look at an unusual life in show business” (Kirkus Reviews) and “painfully candid . . . hard to put down” (Booklist).

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm (daily in July and August). Admission is free through June 15. For more information, call 413 458 2303 or visit The Clark.

 

 

 

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