Janis Ian Papers and Memorabilia

Two-time Grammy award winning singer songwriter, science fiction author, columnist, advocate and educational philanthropist, Janis Ian [birth name Janis Eddy Fink] was born in Farmingdale, New Jersey, on 7 April 1951, one of two children to Victor Fink and Pearl Fink. Coinciding with the release of the Breaking Silence album, in 1993 Janis Ian came out publicly. She would marry Pat Synder, 27 August 2003, Toronto, Canada. Their ceremony was the first time ever a same sex marriage would be featured in the New York Times vows section.

In 1966, Ian wrote and recorded "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)". Owing to the inclusion of new sounds, and the song content concerning an interracial teenage romance. “Society’s Child” was widely censored or willfully ignored. It did not become a national hit until its third release, after Janis Ian was invited to perform live on Leonard Bernstein’s late-April 1967 CBS TV special Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The recording was inducted into the 2001 Grammy Hall of Fame, acknowledging the composition as a significant piece of musical history.

Janis Ian’s success is grounded by her prolific writing. Twenty-three studio albums have been released either containing songs written by herself, or in collaboration with other artists. Her work has achieved multiple international gold and platinum sales awards, ten Grammy nominations including two wins in the categories of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category with “At Seventeen”, 1975; and Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books and Storytelling) with “Society's Child: My Autobiography” (audiobook), 2013.