The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / American Masters Profiling Janis Ian

**Posted by RadioActive** June 15, 2025 4:51 pm

She really only had two big hits - "Society's Child," which was banned by some radio stations in the mid-60s, and "At Seventeen" a few years later. But there's a lot more to this music pioneer than just two hits. That's what made Janis Ian a fitting subject for PBS' "American Masters," a two hour documentary that airs on Friday night (June 20th) from 9-11 PM on WNED.

It repeats the following Sunday afternoon at 2 PM and again Sunday morning at 3 AM.

**Posted by newsguy1** June 15, 2025 9:03 pm

I still have her vinyl album with "At Seventeen" on it.
It is still a great album.

**Posted by RadioActive** June 15, 2025 9:10 pm

According to the preview, she's quite an activist and has a history of s-disturbing. Hence the two-hour profile on the show.

Don't know how many remember the fuss she stirred up with "Society's Child," a song about a white girl dating a black boy. You can imagine the controversy it caused in the U.S. South, where it was routinely banned in 1966. I do recall hearing it on CHUM here and IIRC, it was on the chart.

**Posted by mace** June 16, 2025 1:35 pm

RadioActive wrote:
According to the preview, she's quite an activist and has a history of s-disturbing. Hence the two-hour profile on the show.

Don't know how many remember the fuss she stirred up with "Society's Child," a song about a white girl dating a black boy. You can imagine the controversy it caused in the U.S. South, where it was routinely banned in 1966. I do recall hearing it on CHUM here and IIRC, it was on the chart.

Society's Child peaked at #2 on the CHUM Chart in late June 1967.