By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

Legendary singer/songwriter Janis Ian, of “Society’s Child” and “At Seventeen” renown, has a lot to talk about. Her revealing autobiography, “Society’s Child” (Jeremy Tarcher/Penguin, 2008, $26.95) is being published this month. A companion double-disc compilation, “Best of Janis Ian: The Autobiography Collection” (Rude Girl/Cooking Vinyl), provides a musical perspective on her story and features songs from the various stages of her creative and lengthy career. Also in July, Ian played select early dates on the Hippiefest tour, being the only out artist, alongside Jack Bruce of Cream, The Turtles featuring Flo and Eddie, Eric Burdon and The Animals and others. And she is doing a concert and book signing tour that will keep her on the road until around Thanksgiving. Fortunately, she was able to take time out of her busy schedule to discuss the book, the CD, “Saturday Night Live” and more.

GS: On June 28, just a few days before this interview, in tribute to the late George Carlin, NBC reran the first SNL, which featured you as a musical guest. Did you happen to see it?

JI: Yes.

GS: What was it like re-watching it?

JI: It was strange for me because I have very scattered memories of that day. I had flown in that morning with strep throat and a fever of 102, so the whole day was a little bit foggy. It was great watching Carlin. I remember every time he passed me in the hall he would mutter something about wolverines, and “watch out for the wolverines,” something like that (laughs). I remember that everybody was just really, really nervous, because it was the first live entertainment show to go out since the Sullivan Show went off the air, so that was huge—nobody knew whether it was going to be a hit or not. They had all those made-up commercials because they couldn’t get any commercials, any sponsors. I was watching it with all of that stuff going through my head. Watching myself at that age, or any age really, is just kind of weird. It’s just weird—I don’t know how to explain it.       

GS: I read your autobiography “Society’s Child.” Which would you say is more of a challenge—writing autobiographically in song or in prose/book form?

JI: It’s apples and oranges, just two completely different things. A book, in a way, is easier because you’re in your head until it actually comes out and people read it. In your head you can be a little removed from it, you’re not thinking, “Well, people are going to be reading this and I’m going to be facing an audience that knows things about me that I wouldn’t normally reveal to strangers.” In a song, like “At Seventeen,” that’s so intensely autobiographical, so immensely open, I’m very conscious as I write it that I’ll be performing it.

GS: It’s not like your going to be able to be standing behind someone as they’re reading your book.

JI: Yeah. It’s two really different things. I think the trick is to try and stay open through both of them. 

GS: Your story is amazing, starting out as young as you did as songwriter and performer. You were a teen performer and musician long before Britney and those types. When you see them going through what they go through, does your heart go out to them or do you think it’s all just part of the learning process?

JI: I actually don’t think about it much. Personally, from my book, a lot of these people are terribly spoiled, and it’s unfortunate that they don’t get to come out of the tradition of theater that I came out of. In part, because I was so young, I’m kind of the last generation of performers and entertainers in this country to really bridge that gap between the true theater people and the vaudeville people and the ethic of  “the show must go on,” and the new ethic, which is “everything for me, and more me is always good.” It’s too bad, but on the other hand I do think they’re terribly spoiled, and there’s a point you reach where you either grow up or you don’t. It’s a choice. I guess I don’t have much pity for her or Amy Winehouse. Donny Osmond said a great thing to me once. He said, when he reflected on it, there were really only five of us, at the point he and I were young. There was Stevie Wonder, me and him, Brenda Lee and Michael Jackson. Then Donny said, “and of the five of us, only you and Stevie were writing, and of the two of you, only you were writing relevant material.” I thought, “Wow, that’s a very select club.” I think the difference is that now most these people just have huge amounts of handlers and people who are very invested in keeping them as childish and stupid as possible.

GS: It’s all about the money that’s coming in from that.

JI: There’s so much money. I think it really goes to the culture a well. The culture itself starting somewhere in the mid-to-late ’70s and the explosion of cocaine, the culture itself has really become very narcissistic and very selfish, and we’re just starting to see a turn around on that with this new generation.

GS: The stuff you were writing, at your young age, was really adult material, whereas what Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus performs is really just geared to children, because the market aimed at children is just massive.

JI: Also, you’re not going to run of out children (laughs). If you appeal to an older audience, sooner or later, they’re dead.

GS: In a lot of ways, your story is also a cautionary tale about major record labels, such as your experiences with Verve Forecast and Columbia.

JI: It’s interesting that you would get that from it.

GS: Absolutely. Do you also see the book as a message to musicians and performers to use caution?

JI: I really didn’t think of it like that. I mean, in terms of the majors, like the CD I just put together to go with the autobiography, I was dealing with Sony and Universal, and they were incredibly good to deal with. I was quite shocked at how great they were. Steve Berkowitz at Sony basically said, “You can have whatever you want and you can have it at whatever you can afford.” That’s a complete about-face from 10 years ago dealing with Sony. So I think what maybe is happening is that the majors maybe realizing that it’s better to have part of something than nothing. It’s really interesting—they give us all the original analog sources (and) they didn’t charge me for any of the transfers. I can’t tell you how surprise and pleased I was. The other thing is, without the majors and going through of all that, I wouldn’t have a career. I certainly wouldn’t have an international career. That’s what I always tell students when I lecture and they go, “Should I go indie or should I look for a major label?” It’s still true if you want a huge career, if you want a national or international career, you need to be with a major. Until someone sells a million records on the Internet without any radio help and any distribution help, that’s still going to hold true.  

GS: Speaking of record labels, there’s a line in the book that makes reference to the phrase “rude girl,” which went on to become the name of your record label.

JI: I just lifted it from a UP or API reporter who had lunch with me as a kid and said, I was “in no way as nice as Shirley Temple, and I was a very rude girl.” And I thought, “Fine, if I need to name a record company after somebody I’ll name it after that phrase,” and it wound up just kind of being an audience enjoyment factor because I drew the little logo that goes with it. It’s the only thing I’ve ever drawn in my life, so they see that logo on something, they know it’s basically under my control and the master is going to be as high quality as I can get. So now we’ve got Rude Girl Publishing, Rude Girl Records and I suppose I should eventually have Rude Girl Productions or something.

GS: I’ve been listening to you for many years and I also love other people’s versions of your songs, such as the ones by Martie Jones, Bette Midler, Roberta Flack and even hearing you duet on “My Tennessee Hills” with Dolly Parton.

JI: I think it’s always amazing when somebody else sings your song. Because particularly with someone like a Bette Midler, I know she goes through hundreds of hundreds of hundreds of songs. So to make that pick, to have written something that’s universal enough that another artist can adopt it as their own, to me is just the highest compliment you can get as a songwriter. To get to work with some of these people, like a Willie Nelson or a Dolly, there aren’t that many greats in any profession and I’ve gotten to work with some of the greats. I mean, (Chick) Corea, (Mel) Torme, Dolly and Willie, it’s amazing to me that those people will take the time out and work for, especially nowadays, they’re working scale, they’re not even working for what they would normally make on a session. So, when a Chet Atkins says, “Pay me what you can afford, I want to be on the record,” that’s pretty amazing, and I think again a compliment, not to me so much as to my talent.

GS: I’m glad that you included “Fly Too High” on the new compilation disc “Best of Janis Ian: The Autobiography Collection.” I actually have the 12-inch single of that song. The story that you tell about your studio experience with (legendary Donna Summer producer) Giorgio Moroder was very interesting.

JI: It was a totally different experience for me, but I really enjoyed it. I mean, it taught me a lot about how valuable it is sometimes to just go in and do it and get it done. It’s like “Folk Is The New Black,” (my) last studio record. We did it in three days, and there’s a lot to be said for that.

GS: Yoko Ono is sort of experiencing a new phrase of her career as a dance diva with a lot of her stuff being remixed for club play. I keep hoping a DJ will get their hands on “Fly Too High.” How would it feel to be at the top of the dance charts with a remix of “Fly Too High”?

JI: That’d be great. I doubt it’s going to happen. I just don’t think I’m hip enough. 

GS: I also liked the way you deal with the “gay-straight question” in the book. You wrote about your relationships with men and women. And it’s great to know that you are out and comfortable with your partner Pat.

JI: That’s been years. This is our 19th year. There’s no point at this point in changing it (laughs). I felt it was really important, just like in the shows, to just be inclusive. Whether I was gay or straight, I would want to be inclusive.

GS: What can you tell me about the song that you have available on the Internet called “Married In London”?

JI: It’s available for freed download on my website. It’s just a very funny take on how weird it is to be married in some countries and not married in others. It pokes fun at the whole thing, too. I wrote it when I was in Europe and England had just legalized gay marriage, and I was incensed. I was furious and I called Pat and I said, “(In) England, Ireland, Catholic Spain, we’re legal, but we can’t be legal in the United States. How stupid is that?” And she said, “Boy, you’re starting to sound really bitter about this, you better turn this into something funny” (laughs). I have it up for free downloads, just because I get a kick out of it and I’m not making a new record any time in the foreseeable.

GS: Any chance you’ll be going to California to be married?

JI: No, we’re already married. We got married in Toronto in 2003, so in theory we’re recognized in California and Massachusetts. The conservative moment has a done a really brilliant job convincing a lot of heterosexuals that A) we can go to certain states and be married with full rights and B) we’re going to somehow destroy heterosexual marriage, which is doing a perfectly good job of that on its own.

GS: We began by talking about “Saturday Night Live,” on which you were the first musical guest. An SNL alum, Tina Fey, named a character “Janis Ian” in her movie “Mean Girls.” How did you feel about that?

JI: That was pretty weird (laughs). I started hearing about it. I couldn’t figure out why she or Lorne (Michaels) hadn’t contacted me, and she actually wound up coming to my show that year at Joe’s Pub. She came backstage and she was absolutely terrified that I would be angry. She said that Lorne had told her, “You’ve got to call Janis, you need to call Janis,” and she kept saying, “I will, I will, I will,” and she just couldn’t get up the nerve, and I actually thought it was great. How many people get a movie character named after them, particularly when they’re still alive (laughs)? I thought it was a pretty cool thing. She said that she had been writing it while listening to “At Seventeen” and she just couldn’t figure out what to name the character, and then thought, well, why not Janis Ian. So I don’t know if she meant to change it or they just thought it was funny. But it was great for me. It’s a whole new generation coming to look at my stuff on the Internet.

Janis Ian performs Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. at The Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln.