1 00:00:01,233 --> 00:00:04,033 - And the winner is "At Seventeen," Janis Ian. 2 00:00:04,033 --> 00:00:07,100 - [Janis] When I started out, I wanted to be really famous. 3 00:00:07,100 --> 00:00:09,933 (people shouting) So naive. 4 00:00:09,933 --> 00:00:11,900 - [Interviewer] What do you consider yourself, Janis? 5 00:00:11,900 --> 00:00:13,233 - [Janis] Just a singer. 6 00:00:13,233 --> 00:00:15,866 - [Interviewer] Of any particular notoriety? 7 00:00:15,866 --> 00:00:17,200 - [Janis] Infamously, yes. 8 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,200 - Would you welcome please, Janis Ian. 9 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,200 - Janis standing there with just an acoustic guitar, 10 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,966 it was just mesmerizing. 11 00:00:24,966 --> 00:00:28,866 - This little woman wrote giant works of art. 12 00:00:28,866 --> 00:00:32,033 - Very strong, emphatic social commentary. 13 00:00:32,033 --> 00:00:33,666 - [Narrator] This is perhaps one of the most censored, 14 00:00:33,666 --> 00:00:35,600 I think, of all records. 15 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:37,800 - [Janis] What I was doing was right. 16 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:39,933 It had the power to make people stand up, 17 00:00:39,933 --> 00:00:41,566 and that's why it scared them. 18 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:45,033 - You have this young girl 19 00:00:45,033 --> 00:00:48,233 taking on interracial relationships. 20 00:00:48,233 --> 00:00:49,933 - The record company was afraid of it. 21 00:00:49,933 --> 00:00:52,333 Radio stations were afraid of playing it. 22 00:00:52,333 --> 00:00:54,333 All the odds were stacked against her. 23 00:00:54,333 --> 00:00:55,933 - [Janis] Bernstein said, 24 00:00:55,933 --> 00:00:58,300 "Let's have her on the show we're doing about pop music." 25 00:00:58,300 --> 00:01:01,500 - Listen hard to society's child. 26 00:01:01,500 --> 00:01:03,300 - That was an embrace of God. 27 00:01:03,300 --> 00:01:06,300 - It just took off and then she took off. 28 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,766 ♪ I learned the truth at seventeen ♪ 29 00:01:10,766 --> 00:01:13,200 - [Interviewer] How do you react to the music business? 30 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:14,433 - [Janis] You have to sacrifice 31 00:01:14,433 --> 00:01:16,666 a certain part of yourself for a time. 32 00:01:16,666 --> 00:01:18,900 (audience applauding) 33 00:01:18,900 --> 00:01:21,900 - She was not able to cope with daily reality. 34 00:01:21,900 --> 00:01:25,500 ♪ Those of us who knew the pain ♪ 35 00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:27,866 - [Janis] I had no money. I had nowhere to live. 36 00:01:27,866 --> 00:01:31,566 ♪ Of Valentine's that never came ♪ 37 00:01:31,566 --> 00:01:32,833 - [Janis] In those years, 38 00:01:32,833 --> 00:01:35,066 it was not cool to be out of the closet. 39 00:01:35,066 --> 00:01:38,400 ♪ And those whose names ♪ were never called ♪ 40 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,333 - We were writing every day. 41 00:01:40,333 --> 00:01:43,166 And of course, we fell in love. 42 00:01:43,166 --> 00:01:46,233 (light upbeat music) 43 00:01:46,233 --> 00:01:48,000 - [Janis] I know what it is to feel powerless. 44 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,533 I know what it is to feel trapped. 45 00:01:49,533 --> 00:01:53,066 And so, I can use those feelings as part of being truthful. 46 00:01:53,066 --> 00:01:55,966 - There's a creativity there. There's a power there. 47 00:01:55,966 --> 00:01:57,933 - Her legacy is not just as a songwriter, 48 00:01:57,933 --> 00:02:00,333 but it's as an LGBTQ icon. 49 00:02:00,333 --> 00:02:01,600 - I can't say the rest is history, 50 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:03,000 but history was being made. 51 00:02:04,166 --> 00:02:06,966 - Child prodigies have complications. 52 00:02:06,966 --> 00:02:09,000 - I don't think that she intended 53 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,666 to become a symbol of social change. 54 00:02:11,666 --> 00:02:14,200 She was writing about what she knew. 55 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,666 - She's true to her music and true to herself. 56 00:02:16,666 --> 00:02:18,666 (upbeat music) 57 00:02:18,666 --> 00:02:21,833 - [Janis] Music is about telling stories. This is mine. 58 00:02:21,833 --> 00:02:24,033 Thank you. It's been a long time.