I'm Janis age. She sang these words for so MANY of us in the late 60s, having very similar life experiences like hers. We saw and experienced what She; it was all around us.
The mother has a point. She is worried about her child. The inner cities are a mess, you can't help but noticed what happened in Chicago last weekend. Would you not be worried about your daughter's safety? Sorry Sal but the stats are the stats. The mother has a a point to be concerned. She loves her daughter
Very underrated, I agree. Until last year I only knew her hits from the radio. Than I bought an album in a second hand store...and I was sold. I hope the opportunity arises to see her perform live in Belgium or the Netherlands.
The Smothers Brothers was my favorite show. They were cutting edge with all the critical issues of the day. They had the balls to give the true story of what was happening.
A song where the story behind it is as fascinating as the song itself. In her own words, "she conceived the song when she was 12, wrote it at 13, published it at 14, became known at 15, and was a has-been at 16"(the age she is in the video). Radio stations and others were so successful in suppressing the song that it took almost 2 years to chart. The Smothers Brothers caught a lot of heat for letting Janis sing this (some of it from a 30 year-old Bill Cosby no less) and advertisers threatened to walk. An interesting time to be alive. And a courageous and talented woman.
Actually it was very topical. And now that science has debunked the concept that there are different races of humans this song will likely seem odd to people living in the year 2067.
I've been thinking of this song much recently. White men are now much marrying women of color where they weren't like white women have been for years! Leave it to us women to start the change!
Janice Rogers Who the F cares? What we are dealing with is poverty it was this song promotes is poverty. She should’ve sang The following. 1. Graduate from high school 2 Don’t Marry till you’re 25 3 do not have children until you’re married You do those three things And you will eliminate poverty and prejudice.
Janis Ian was wise and way ahead of her time. Brave, multitalented, courageous and more power to her for writing this song and singing it with passion and conviction! What 16 year old could write a song with such a powerful message like this one today? She was absolutely amazing! 👍👍👍
That voice ! It has built in heart break. I still have my parents vinyl. (I'm 64) Just saw her in concert a few weeks ago. The voice is still the same, yet more mature. It was pure magic !
Janis said she was inspired to write the single after reading a The New York Times article about a young woman who believed her life would improve after a debutante ball and her subsequent disappointment when it did not. She was also uncertain about writing about high school when she had never experienced a homecoming or a prom. Janis was living with her mother at the time she wrote it.
@@stevecasey1037 So it was for somebody else, though not somebody she knew personally. Thanks. I knew nothing about the background of the song, though I would hear it on the oldies station from time to time.
Yes she thought she was unattractive. She was not one of the tall blond cheerleaders she said in another video. We see that she is a beauty, but society told her otherwise.
An amazingly talented and very brave lady at 14 who didn't need to lip sync this song like most performers were forced to do back then. She's singing "live-to-track" here, no auto tune either!
This song is so absolutely amazing in many ways. The eerie melody, the odd tempo changes that actually go together all so well, or the brilliant way of protesting an injustice, but the most fascinating feat was Janis was only 13 when she wrote this very special song. This song only made it to #14 but would have made it so much higher if not for the closed minds of so many radio stations who would not play it. In my humble opinion one of the best songs ever!!!!!!
powerful song, especially for that era, and still remarkedly relevant today. For those who heard it and really listened to it, it probably had a profound affect. Most folks nowadays do not remember how strong the color lines were still drawn at that time, and how much a lot of us wanted to change the racism of that time. Now we still have that racism because many do not realize our true history and how much we have tried to eradicate that kind of stupidity from our behavior. Obviously, we still have a long way to go.
ONLY #14?! It must have been a smash hit then! The Top 20 was in heavy rotation back in the day. "Society's Child" is cited in the history of '60s music during a magical renaissance that extended into the 'mid-70s. The melody/composition is sophisticated, which makes #14 even more amazing. It was probably banned in various markets, which may have also suppressed its ascent.
It was banned from Ga radio stations, but it did get some play here and there. I understood the songs so well, as a wonderful guy I worked with (I was a candy striper, he was an orderly at the nursing home) asked me out and my mother was aghast that he was black. I said I'd noticed that, but she refused to let me go out with him.
Amazing song! She started writing this song at 13, finished writing it at 14, recorded it at 15, and became a hit at 16. Probably would have been a top 10 hit if not so many radio stations refused to play it.
I think even at 16 she was a Legend for breaking down the barriers of interracial relations and having the guts to go on stage and face in audience, not knowing what to expect from them
Janus Ian, is ONE of a kind , and this particular recording, Society's Child, is on my top ten list of 1967 hits. I fell in love with this song in 1967 from the very first time I heard it. Given the FACT that 1967 was chocked full of amazing music, in my mind, she stood out shining bright. Thank GOD, for this WONDERFULLY talented artist. Her song lives in my heart to this day.
A beautiful song. What she sang about someday doing my mother and father had done. Interracial marriages weren't easy in the 60s but they stayed married until my father died in 1983. They were an example of how love overcomes all barriers if you have the heart....
The year that this song was played many times over--1967--the United States Supreme Court unanimously overturned the remaining statutes against interracial marriage, and the film 'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner' premiered.
My Step Dad played this song for me when he started to realize I was gay before even I did... It's been a favorite of mine since I was a child. I found out today that he passed a few years ago we lost touch long after my my died in 1994 when I was 15, and just hearing it again as an adult and realizing the powerful mean and the time it was written in and my connection with him has brought tears to my eyes and made me feel closer to him and the fact that he understood that I was going to be in for a rough go of it as a gay youth before it was socially acceptable. She is an amazing person I have followed for years.
I was 15 yrs old when this song came out in '65. I really resonated with it but didn't exactly know why. That realization came much later. Times were fast changing in the mid late 60's and thank goodness for Janis, Tom and Dick at this time of my life.
The production on this song is amazing. It’s so unique. I love the tremolo guitar effects, the organ, harpsichord, tambourine, and the beautiful blend of acoustic and electric guitars. Very nice song! One of my favorites.
I met her a few years ago and spent some time with her as well. A very lovely lady with a good heart! Talented and worth seeing her if you get a chance. She signed records until everyone who was in line had them all signed and pictures taken.
She's 16 here, unless she's already had her '67 birthday (she was born in '51). She later recorded a song called "Seventeen", in which she referred to herself as an "ugly-duckling" girl. Um, honey, you're gorgeous. Straight up.
What a sad, sad song. Her youth makes it twice as moving. Wow. The transition into that last line "I won't see you anymore" in which the singer makes the decision makes my eyes well up with tears.
One of my heroes! My dad used to play this album for me when I was 7 or 8 years old. Still love her today. And yes she was very brave and ahead of her time.
Heard this song first when I was 8 or 9 and it made me feel sad then. Rediscovering this haunting tune; listening to it a dozen times. Janis always had this sad, melancholy aura around her.
until a few weeks ago i only knew the spooky tooth version of this song, then i stumbled across the original version and was speechless!! such a great voice, great talent, great woman!!
OMG, racism is so wrong, I was not raised that way and I grew up in Idaho in the 60's and 70's,we are all the same, living and breathing beings, beautiful song!!!
I very much remember meeting her outside of the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. She was performing there and took a break outside to smoke a cigarette. I was selling counterculture newspapers. Just the two of us outside on the street. We exchanged pleasantries. She went back in to do her gig, and I remained outside selling newspapers
In 78-79 in college,I met a awesome guy,who just happened to be black.He said that it wasnt the time for us,but that he liked me.I will never forget him.Miss you Darryl
Even though they don't interact, it's still surreal seeing Janis Ian and Jimmy Durante in the same segment. Two outstanding performers from two very different generations.
And probably only the Smothers Brothers had the courage to allow her to sing this song on their show at the time. Ed Sullivan certainly wouldn't have done it.
of coarse the Smother Brothers would have her on! they were the best at telling the truth pushing the envelope which is why they got cancelled...i bought this 45 when it came out, still powerful today!
What a fantastic song, written by someone so young. We still see racism so active today. Imagine when life was segregated and mixed marriages were banned by law. Such hell. Same thing happening to LGBTQ people. Same song different era. Its so relevant. Love you Janis Ian! You made such a difference in my life.
Janis Ian was only 15 years old when she made this appearance on TSBCH.....what a talented artist and one incredibly moving song....thanks Tommy and Dickie