A few years ago I sat down with Jess Leary, one of my favorite co-writers, and we decided to write an anthem. It felt like the world was getting stranger every day. People were scared, feeling hopeless.

Writing “One In a Million” made us feel hopeful. It reminded us that no matter how hard things got, we were not alone.

We are one, we are one in a million
We are one in a million strong
In my darkest night, I hold on to that light
We are one in a million strong

A while later, I was asked to perform at a San Francisco event called “Fight the Right.” When I found out Joan Baez would also be appearing, I asked if she’d sing it with me. Fortunately, Joan’s a quick study, because we only had time for one short run through.

We sang it twice that night, with fellow musician Anthony Peterson helping out and the audience joining in as soon as they’d learned the chorus.

A short while ago Joan’s long time personal assistant, Nancy Lutzow, let me know that she’d just uncovered a tape of us singing “One In a Million” at the San Francisco show. She sent me a copy and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. Sure, you can hear a couple of flubs – we’d only sung it through once! – but it was certainly nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it was the most hopeful thing I’d heard in a while. I contacted Joan to ask if she would be okay offering this as a free download, and it escalated from there.

My co-writer Jess jumped on board immediately. My webmaster, Steve Wilkison, created a video and artwork. Jeff Evans handled inserting the metadata and mastering. Joan and Nancy stayed involved every step of the way. It’s been a group effort from start to finish, and now I’m happy to include whoever reads this as part of our group.

Please download a free copy of the track and sheet music from https://janisian.com. We encourage you to share the downloads, and make your own videos and recordings. It’s also available on major sites like Apple and Amazon, but they won’t let us offer things for free, so we’re charging the absolute minimum allowed.

At a time when it’s easy to lose hope, we want to remind people that our dreams are still attainable. We are still united in the pursuit of good. And each of us is just one of a million others who also refuse to give up. So stay strong. You are not alone.

#oneinamillion #staystrong #joanbaez #janisian #resist

Watch the video of “One In A Million” on YouTube
Download a free MP3 of WAV file of “One In A Million”
Download a free PDF of the sheet music for “One In A Million”

Watch Joan talk about Janis in Varda Bar-Kar’s film Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, now streaming throughout North America and coming to PBS American Masters late June! Get information about live screenings and viewing options.

The DVD of the new Breaking Silence documentary will be released on April 29th. You can currently pre-order it at Amazon and Kino Lorber.

The remarkable life and legacy of singer-songwriter Janis Ian. Rocketing to fame at age 15 with her controversial debut “Society’s Child,” Ian’s career has shattered barriers and given voice to unvarnished truths.  Her iconic anthem “At Seventeen” is hailed as “the best song about growing up.”  Featuring Janis Ian, Joan Baez, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, and more.

A new “teaser” for the Breaking Silence documentary film about Janis has just been released. You can view it here.

I’ve gotten several requests from churches and other gathering groups to use this piece in services as a “healing song,” after the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Here are free downloads of the recording, and the sheet music, for anyone who wants them.

We are each other’s harvest;
We are each other’s business;
We are each other’s magnitude and bond.
– Gwendolyn Brooks

Download a free MP3 of “Swannanoa”
Download a free PDF of the sheet music for “Swannanoa”

LYRICS:

Swannanoa, I can hear you
call my name upon the wind
If I fall behind, don’t worry
You will see my face again
You will see my face again

Swannanoa, I am longing
for my home so far away
I will carry you within me
from the cradle to the grave
From the cradle to the grave

And the mountains, and the mist
and the white clouds they kissed
And the sweetgum’s perfume in my hair

When these hard times have passed
I will see you at last
Swannanoa, I’ll be home to stay
Oh my darling, I’ll be home to stay

REPEAT LAST SECTION

Words & music by Janis Ian, © Local Stranger Music (BMI)
All rights reserved; international copyright secured. Used by permission.

In honor of The Janis Ian Archives opening in 2024, Berea College is putting on a weekend-long event (October 17-20, 2024) that mirrors the archive tour experience; bringing in musical artists and famous friends to create a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The Janis Ian Archives

The Janis Ian Archives are a unique resource for music history research, offering unfettered access to Ian’s life, publishing, and recording. Beginning with her grandparents’ immigration papers, circa 1916, the Archives will follow the journey of Ian’s 1937 Martin D-18 guitar, chronicle the HUAC years with insights into her parents’ FBI files (and what FBI surveillance cost Ian’s family over the decades), and then travel through the civil rights, women’s, and LGBTQ movements. Visitors to the Archives can view Janis Ian’s correspondence with other musical artists, famous friends, and collaborators.

For more details on the Breaking Silence Celebration, please email: breakingsilence@berea.edu.

Boone Tavern Hotel Discount
Boone Tavern Hotel has offered us a discounted rate for Breaking Silence guests who call in or book online using the Group ID Code 259660. The phone number is (859) 985-3700, or they may make reservations online.

Reminder: my website sale ends early evening of January 2! Prices slashed to continue moving CDs we ordered for the tour that had to be canceled, and to give all of us a little financial break. Come enjoy free downloads, CDs as low as $7.99 (and a bundle of the audiophile re-issued Between the Lines along with Light), album downloads as low as FREE and $7.95, and stupidly low prices on all sheet music.

Visit the store now while these prices still apply.

Enjoy, and have a great New Year!

December 2023

There’s really not much to report that isn’t in September’s update, except for a few exciting pieces of news!

We decided to hold a small sale this holiday season, so be sure to check the Official Janis Ian Store at Shopify. The sale ends on January 2nd, so don’t delay. I’m sorry but there’s no personalization available; I need a break, too!

If you want to purchase signed items, Kris’ site (Janis Ian Signed) is also having a sale.

We’re also making my acclaimed 2006 album Folk Is The New Black completely free for a limited time. You can download either CD quality FLAC files or high quality MP3 files. You’ll find lots of other free stuff you can download there as well.

I’m headed to Ireland mid-January, where Tradfest will be honoring me with a concert of my work by old and new friends, among them “old” friends Mary Black and Eric Bibb. There’ll also be several live interviews and Q&A’s, as well as a work-in-progress screening of Varda Bar-Kar’s film Janis Ian: Breaking Silence. Three years in the making, we’re getting an inside look at the film before it’s finalized; after a festival and theatrical run, the documentary will have its exclusive U.S. broadcast premiere on American Masters on PBS.

In celebration of Tradfest, I’m making free downloads of my album Folk Is the New Black available to anyone who wants them. Visit the official Janis Ian Store to download this album and other goodies as well. Enjoy!

The only other piece of “big” news is that The Janis Ian Archives at Berea College will be opening mid-October, 2024. Stay tuned and sign up for the Janis Ian Mailing List so you can get information first! We’re still working on the website pages (and hiring an event planner…), but check in with this page regularly as we get closer to the date.

Thank you all for your support. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.

Read on for more news from the past year!

Janis

Jeff Evans and I put together two long-planned projects which are out now! Worktapes & Demos Vol. 1 is something we’ve talked about for decades. I’ve got hundreds of first-time-into-a-microphone songs; early versions, alternate takes, rough mixes, you name it. This first album is worktapes of songs from my first three CBS albums (Stars, Between the Lines, and Aftertones), plus a couple that didn’t make the recording. They’re digital only and because sales will go to the archives, Sony Publishing have graciously waived all licensing fees. (Yes, they own a lot of my work. Yes, they do a much better job with it than I would. Yes, I really love working with Esther Friedman and Eriko Nitta.)

The second, Live at the Calderone Theater 1975, is a straight-through concert recorded live to tape that November. Even I was kind of stunned at how good my voice sounded, though my gosh! I’m so young!!

Meanwhile, you can buy both digital albums in a nice bundle from my own site, which will also get you a package with lyrics, artwork, notes and credits. And you can still buy signed items from my friend Kris Noyes, who’s also handling my vinyl sales.

Visit the Official Janis Ian Store

Read the latest newsletter from Janis

From Janis: “Extremely happy about this!”

Multiple Grammy Award winning recording artist, songwriter and musician Janis Ian has donated her entire archives, along with her father’s 1937 Martin D-18, to Berea College’s Special Collections and Archives at Hutchins Library, where they will be made available for viewing and study in the future.

Visitors to the Berea College Special Collections and Archives will be able to view Ian’s correspondence with other musical artists, famous friends and collaborators, while flipping through song notebooks, diaries and a journal that includes Ian’s first poem, written at age 10.

Not only will fans around the globe be able to view memorabilia and materials from her decades-long career; they’ll be able to support efforts to preserve, catalog, digitize and display the priceless items at Berea and eventually in an online archive. Ian and Berea College are jointly establishing a fund to preserve the legacy of her career in perpetuity.

While many artists have received significant amounts of money for turning over their archives, The Janis Ian Archives are entirely different – Ian’s belief in Berea College is so strong that she has donated all materials without compensation. Her only stipulation is that records remain open to the public, not just academic researchers. To learn more about the Janis Ian Archives Fund or to donate, visit the Berea College website.

Read the entire announcement.

Big sale running now in the official Janis Ian Store until December 20th!

To say I’ve been up and down lately would be a radical understatement, so I’m just going to tackle what’s been happening one item at a time.

Most important, we are well. Gracie Mae continues to whirligig any time she thinks there’s a treat available. Pat continues to spend mornings on the porch, reading the papers and defining the temperature by “It’s a one hoodie, two hoodie, or three hoodie morning”.

As for myself, well… you may already know that I had to cancel the remainder of my North American shows, as well as all planned overseas appearances. I planned to finish my touring life with a series of shows in Ireland, culminating on May 31st in Dublin, where I’d be joined onstage by a host of colleagues. The whole show would be filmed for an upcoming documentary of my life and work. After that, I would do the occasional special event, sing on other peoples’ records, and concentrate on writing prose.

Read the entire message from Janis

Janis’ latest album, The Light At The End Of The Line, has been nominated for Best Folk Album in the 2023 Grammy Awards.

From Janis: “This is full circle for me: my first Grammy nomination ever was in 1967, also for ‘Best Folk Album’. This marks my tenth nomination, in eight different categories. It’s a bittersweet moment, given everything that’s happened this year with my ability to vocalize – but a grand one. Gratitude to everyone who participated in this completely independent piece of work, and thanks to all my colleagues for nominating me!!”

We’re happy to announce that we now have signed vinyl copies of Janis’ newest album, the Grammy nominated The Light At The End Of The Line. There is also a special, CD bundle of The Light at the End of the Line and a brand new, remastered, definitive version of Janis’ Grammy Award winning album Between The Lines.

Thanks to World Cafe for their continued support! World Cafe will re-air my exclusive performance starting Friday, June 10 on over 250 radio stations worldwide.

Find your local station.

Or tune in on demand.

It is with deep regret and not a few tears that I have to announce the postponement of my upcoming St. Louis and Nashville shows. The consensus is that despite best efforts, there is no way my laryngitis will clear up in time, and I can’t run the risk of potentially devastating injury to my vocal cords.

These two shows were supposed to wrap up my final spring tour; both places are very special to me – the Sheldon is among the best crews in the world, it’s where I shot my only live DVD, and coincidentally where my tour manager of fifteen years and I first met one another. The CMA Theater is something I watched grow from its beginning, and of course, I was a Nashville resident for 33 years. I’ve supported CMA every step of the way, from dragging out-of-towners to their old building and having the idea to give locals a financial break when we brought guests, to donating an ancient Philco upright radio Chet Atkins had worked on with me, along with all my music and theater books.

Again, both shows are being postponed. We’re already researching fall dates with the theaters. I promise, we will announce the new dates as soon as possible.

Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts and understanding. I haven’t dealt with laryngitis like this since my teens… I suppose the odds were running against me. Doesn’t make it any easier, and believe me, I feel worse about it than anyone else. Again my apologies.

Special thanks to both theater’s staffs for being so understanding, and to Wayno and Piraro for allowing me to continue posting their cartoons.

From Janis: My 5-song exclusive performance with World Cafe begins airing on Tuesday, March 8 at 2:00PM EST on over 250 radio stations worldwide. Visit World Cafe on the NPR website to find your local station or tune in to WXPN Radio online and choose ‘Listen Live’ from the drop-down at the top of the page.

Due to extreme demand we have opened more seats for the Master Class at McCabe’s in Santa Monica, CA on Sunday, March 13th. Though the event was previously listed as sold out, you can now buy tickets once again. Master Classes include performances.

Janis Ian has given master classes in both conventional and unconventional settings, always with an eye to passing on the legacy a five-decade-career has allowed her to experience. Although originally geared toward actors, musicians, and writers, the classes have also been used by classes in nursing, music industry accounting and management, and general audience members. In the recent past, she has worked with Berklee College of Music, The Stella Adler School, The Swannanoa Gathering, Gamble Rogers Festival, and Philadelphia Folk Festival.

Janis’ final North American tour begins this weekend with a series of break-in shows in Santa Fe, NM. Yes, it really is the last tour! There are dates all over the country (with a few more still to be announced) so no matter where you live there’s a good chance Janis will be somewhere close. Take a look at the schedule and be sure to grab some tickets.

Tickets go on sale for Janis’ show at the renowned Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater in Nashville on Friday, February 11th at 10:00AM CT. The show will feature Livingston Taylor as a special guest. Janis is calling this her “final tour of the U.S.,” follows the January release of The Light at the End of the Line—her “last solo studio album” and first album of new material in fifteen years. Beginning on Friday you can purchase tickets directly from the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

Janis’ last solo studio album, The Light At The End Of The Line, is now available at the official Janis Ian Store! A special Limited Spring Tour Bundle is available for a limited time.The album is available as a CD, Hi-Res downloads, CD quality downloads and high quality MP3 downloads. All songs can be purchased as individual high quality MP3 downloads. Sheet music is also available for all songs.

We hope that you’ll buy direct from the artist through the above links and the artist will receive all the proceeds. If it’s easier, though, by all means go to Amazon or iTunes. We just want the music out there.

The New York Times has published an article about the new Janis Ian album, The Light at the End of the Line.

Written by Jim Farber, and titled “Janis Ian Lets Her Music Speak Her Mind (One Last Time), the article takes a deep dive into not only the new album but Janis’ history and impact on a wide range of social and musical subjects as well. Here’s a quick preview and you can read the entire article online at the New York Times website. (Note that you may have to open a free account there to read the article.)

“On a recent morning, Janis Ian spoke expansively from her work space in Florida about a 50-year career marked by literary lyrics, social activism and major hits. Just one subject brought her up short. When pondering younger artists who’ve publicly cited her as an inspiration, she paused and threw up her arms. “I can’t think of one. So many people say, ‘Joni Mitchell is my big influence,’” she said. “And I thought, wait a minute. Didn’t I influence anybody?”

“She might not get the loudest shout-outs, but there’s no denying that Ian has often served as a cultural clairvoyant.

“In 1967, she became one of the first fully self-determined female singer-songwriters in pop, having penned every track on her debut album, which was released one month before Laura Nyro’s, a year before Joni Mitchell’s and three before Carole King’s.”

Read the entire article on the New York Time‘s website for free. (Image by Eve Edelheit for The New York Times)

From Janis: “Better Times Will Come” was written the day after John Prine died, the only 3-chord song I’ve ever done. It turned into an enormous project featuring artists from 16 countries, singing and signing in 16 different languages. My original version was just sung into my phone, voice only.

When I recorded it for this album, I wanted my part to stay true to that first version, but then grow into something broader. I called Viktor Krauss, my favorite bass player, and asked him to co-produce something that would “show the times we’ve been living through”. We went through our mental Rolodexes, enlisting friends like Diane Schuur and Vince Gill, Jim Hoke and John Cowan. The direction to the players was “Don’t hold back!” and that’s just what we got.

For me, this piece illustrates the arc of fear, isolation, hope, relief, and then return to fear we keep going through as we deal with Covid-19. It’s also a tribute to my fellow artists, as we continue to do our work, offering audiences an escape and a bit of joy, even as we watched our own professions disintegrate under the weight of it all.
“Better Times Will Come” is available now on your preferred digital music service or as a digital download from the official Janis Ian Store. Sheet music is also available in the official Janis Ian Store.

You can find it on my last solo studio album, The Light at the End of the Line, coming January 21. You can also pre-order merch or pre-save the album wherever you get your music these days.

On January 21st, physical and digital copies will be available at the official Janis Ian Store.

Watch the video on this site or on YouTube.

Video by Carole Waechter.

From Janis: “Summer is my favorite time to be in New York. Despite the heat and humidity, there’s a hum to the city you don’t find any other time of year. Chess and congas, ice cream vendors and free outdoor concerts… it’s magical. Growing up in New Jersey, spending time in the city during the summer months was always a highlight. By the way, this was the very first video Carol Waechter, whose video of “Resist” has garnered so much press attention, ever created!”

Janis Ian: Vocal, piano
Randy Leago: Clarinet

In the fifteen years since my last full release album, so much has changed — and yet, here we are, still fighting many of the same battles. If “At Seventeen” was released today and needed a follow up, I’d hope “Resist” would be it. You can listen and purchase it now at any of your favorite music services. Sheet music is also available in the Janis Ian Store.

Janis is planning her final tour of the US, The Last Tour, with dates starting in February 2022 and running through November. Her tours have sold out in every country she’s visited, and this one will likely follow. More information about the shows can be found on the Tour Dates page.

Free download!!! Janis’ old friend Shirley Cason has created a beautiful arrangement of “A Thousand Years”, the holiday song Janis wrote with Russ Taff. Enjoy this free holiday gift!

Download a free MP3 of “A Thousand Years.”

Vocals, acoustic guitar: Janis Ian
All other instruments, arrangement: Shirley Cason

Watch the video by Shirley Cason on YouTube.

Download a free PDF of the sheet music for “A Thousand Years.”

Tremendously excited to announce I have a new album coming out on January 21, 2022! A “swan song” of sorts, The Light at the End of the Line will be my first full release since 2006. There’s even a single, “I’m Still Standing,” out now. You can listen and purchase it now at any of your favorite music services. I’ve spent a lifetime of writing trying to live up to the talent I was born with. Hopefully, I’ve finally managed it. Sheet music is also available in the Janis Ian Store.

Janis’ last full North American tour will begin in late February, just after the release of her final solo studio album The Light At The End Of The Line, with a series of “break-in shows” at George R. R. Martin’s Jean Cocteau Theatre in Santa Fe. The tour will continue throughout 2022 and cover most of the United States and Canada. For more information visit the Tour Dates section of the website.

The Better Times Project has a new home. When this project first started, back in April, there were just a handful of artists contributing. Now there are almost 150. As the project began to grow the decision was made to create a new website for everything. We hope you like the new home. You can listen to all of the different versions of “Better Times Will Come” and watch all the videos. You can also download the songs, sheet music, lyrics, coloring pages and more. Visit the new site and let us know what you think.