In the mid-60s, Janis Ian, a teenage singer-songwriter from New Jersey scores a hit (“Society’s Child,” 1966) about an interracial relationship.
The song launches her illustrious career but also ignites controversy, and she plunges into an emotional tailspin–only to emerge from the ashes with an even bigger hit (“At Seventeen,” 1975) about body shaming. For the next six decades, Janis overcame homophobia, record industry misogyny, and a life-threatening illness to produce an indelible body of work that continues to draw large audiences around the globe.
