- And the winner is "At Seventeen," Janis Ian.
- [Janis] When I started out, I wanted to be really famous.
(people shouting) So naive.
- [Interviewer] What do you consider yourself, Janis?
- [Janis] Just a singer.
- [Interviewer] Of any particular notoriety?
- [Janis] Infamously, yes.
- Would you welcome please, Janis Ian.
- Janis standing there with just an acoustic guitar, it was just mesmerizing.
- This little woman wrote giant works of art.
- Very strong, emphatic social commentary.
- [Narrator] This is perhaps one of the most censored, I think, of all records.
- [Janis] What I was doing was right.
It had the power to make people stand up, and that's why it scared them.
- You have this young girl taking on interracial relationships.
- The record company was afraid of it.
Radio stations were afraid of playing it.
All the odds were stacked against her.
- [Janis] Bernstein said, "Let's have her on the show we're doing about pop music."
- Listen hard to society's child.
- That was an embrace of God.
- It just took off and then she took off.
♪ I learned the truth at seventeen ♪ - [Interviewer] How do you react to the music business?
- [Janis] You have to sacrifice a certain part of yourself for a time.
(audience applauding) - She was not able to cope with daily reality.
♪ Those of us who knew the pain ♪ - [Janis] I had no money.
I had nowhere to live.
♪ Of Valentine's that never came ♪ - [Janis] In those years, it was not cool to be out of the closet.
♪ And those whose names ♪ were never called ♪ - We were writing every day.
And of course, we fell in love.
(light upbeat music) - [Janis] I know what it is to feel powerless.
I know what it is to feel trapped.
And so, I can use those feelings as part of being truthful.
- There's a creativity there.
There's a power there.
- Her legacy is not just as a songwriter, but it's as an LGBTQ icon.
- I can't say the rest is history, but history was being made.
- Child prodigies have complications.
- I don't think that she intended to become a symbol of social change.
She was writing about what she knew.
- She's true to her music and true to herself.
(upbeat music) - [Janis] Music is about telling stories.
This is mine.
Thank you.
It's been a long time.