Janis Ian’s ‘At Seventeen’ is one for the ages

By John Benson

Over the past three decades, folk singer Janis Ian, known for iconic ’70s song “At Seventeen,” has watched her career ebb and flow. Recently, the 58-year-old artist had an experience that has her feeling as though she’s once again on an upswing.

“It’s funny how it happens,” said Ian, calling from Larchmont, N.Y. “I was just at an awards dinner talking to Taylor Swift, the country artist who is pretty young, and her dad said, ‘Taylor, this is Janis Ian who wrote ‘At Seventeen.’” And I was curious because she’s so young. So I said, ‘Taylor, do you know that song?’ And she said, ‘Oh, God yes. Celine Dion did it.’

“I thought that’s really funny because three years ago, people were coming to my show because they saw it in [feature film] ‘Mean Girls,’ and now it’s Celine Dion. It has a life of its own, that song.”

Though Ian wrote other mainstream songs, such as the controversial “Society’s Child [Baby I’ve Been Thinking],” and the oft-covered “Jesse” and “Stars,” it’s “At Seventeen” for which she is most remembered. Released in 1975, “At Seventeen” launched Ian into the stratosphere with her album “Between The Lines” receiving five Grammy nominations. To illustrate how big the song was, Ian actually performed the song on the debut episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

“I had strep throat and a fever of 102 degrees,” Ian said. “I barely remember it. I remember this guy was standing behind a papier- m ¢ch mountain talking to a pig and thought that was pretty weird. It was Jim Henson. I also remember Billy Preston was amazing.”

So what does Ian hear today when she listens to “At Seventeen?”

“When I sing it, it’s different every night,” Ian said. “It’s always fun to sing because when you got a hit that’s that substantial and means that much to people, the best part is just watching that look in their eyes. I knew that I had written something that was bone true to the point where it was a little scary to sing it. It was very scary to sing it, but I didn’t think it would endure like this. I mean, who would have thought? We’re going on 35 years now. It’s pretty incredible.”

Today, Ian remains quite busy. In 2008 she released her book “Society’s Child: My Autobiography,” which was listed as a must-read by Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine.

Then earlier this year, a new retrospective CD was released. In fact, that’s what she’s touring, with a return scheduled to the Buckeye State. For Ian’s Friday date at The Kent Stage, the famous singer will be joined by Gretchen Peters.

“Gretchen is a wonderful singer-songwriter,” Ian said.

“She wrote [Martina McBride’s hit] ‘Independence Day.’ And we’ll be doing a couple of songs as well. So that’ll be a little bit more bang for the buck. So anytime you get two people who know each other and like each other’s music already, it’s a plus. It’s a win-win. And it’s a win-win for the audience, too, because there’s an overlap. Some of her fans will get to hear me and vice-versa. It’s just a good thing for the audience. Especially that time of the year, it’s nice to see people cooperating and having a good time together around the holidays.”