Janis Ian really only had two big time hit songs. #1 is Societies Child and the other is At Seventeen. Till at 17 came along, it was feared that Janis might have been the proverbial one hit wonder.
Janis, as a folk singer has created many songs over the years. Societies Child was perhaps her most powerful in many ways.
Janis, born into a Jewish family on April 7,1951. She pursued a career in folk music and in the mid 60's when at the ripe young age of 13, she wrote Societies Child. At age 16 she performed it live before a national audience as I will reveal in this link. >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfpBQe-YwLk
Societies Child is a very beautiful song. Its lyrics are very powerful and sentimental. Over 40 years later, today in late 2011, the concept of interracial hook ups between whites and blacks still have a little taboo about it, but not to the extremity that it did in the 60's.
Think of it, in reality, there are two primary motivations in which the white race and the black race intertwine. Of course not always are these the two motivations, but most of the times they are. What are those two motivations? #1 drugs. #2 Jesus. Typically also, some type of social taboo is also a motivating factor. I have heard more than one Jewish guy express how he was motivated to hook up with or have a relationship with a black woman. Where does this motivation stem from? I do not know, but take note, most interracial relationships have these three variables as a catalyst.
The typical black man and white woman couple are into marijuana or harder substances, or perhaps they met in church and based upon Jesus' brain washing scripture that all men are created equal and there should be no prejudice, the black man and white woman use this as a basis that their relationship is OK despite it going against normal typical social mores.
What is the materialization of this some 40 years later? The ultra hot porn scene of severely hung black men fucking slender and beautiful white women in their ass holes showing no mercy. THAT is a big time 2011 fetish fantasy that sells tons of hot xxx porn movies.
There is nothing like the contrast of a dark skin hung male sliding his erect penis in and out of the pale skin submissive females ass hole. Perhaps the same underlying taboo of 40+ years ago is the catalyst for this perverted sexually intimate hook up, but whatever the motivation, the interracial hook up is much more socially acceptable today than it was 40 years ago.
I can recall when Mohamed Ali was the heavy weight champion of the world, how skinny and pretty white girls in their late teens and young twenties would admire him, but there was no way in all hell they would hook up with a black man,
Today, things are different. Society is more liberal minded. The taboos of yesteryear are a little more socially acceptable. OK, a lot more socially acceptable. However, it is of my opinion that the typical three motivating factors for those who hook up interracially are still what they are. Drugs, Jesus or perhaps the Jewish / black taboo motivating factor.
Most always, some thing motivates people to break free from the norm path in life. These people are referred to as the black sheep of the family.
Often times there is a lack of morality or proper conditioning typically supplied via mom and dad which instill in the child an inner perception of what is right and what is wrong. In the case of Janis Ian, she expresses her perception of this interracial relationship in Societies Child.
Janis Ian her self had to alter things due to social perception. Her birth name is Janis Eddy Fink. I am no marketing expert, but I gotta imagine that the name Janis Ian comes across as much more attractive than Janis Fink does. :)
Perhaps as a premonition of what was to come later in her own life, Janis her self had a lesbian marriage for many years.
I checked her name on the http://celebritynetworth.com site and there is not a listing of Janis Ian there. It would have been interesting to know how much financial riches Janis' musical career brought her, but there is no such info.
Today though, as expressed via the porn industry, the taboo of whites and blacks hooking up, is much more mainstream. I still think though this falls into the axiom or hypothesis of drugs or Jesus being a motivating factor, for the simple reason that much of the porn industry is motivated via mind altering substances too.
In a normal traditional white picket fence perception of how society is supposed to be, Man is supposed to choose ONE woman and marry her and cherish her for life. That woman should be of the same race, religion and moral values as the man. However, it seems that reality does not match such perfection principles. Take a look at two current presidential nominees, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich.
Herman Cain did the right thing in life via marrying the perfect woman. She is a good wholesome Christian woman of the same race as Herman and they have been married for 40+ years. Herman is a typical male dog though. Like Bill Clinton, what good is all of a mans charisma and power if it means he has to remain faithful to ONE woman his entire life here on planet earth?
Donald Trump shares this quality with Newt Gingrich. Both men have been married 3 times. Both men have cheated on their previous wife while romancing their future wife. All of man kind deals with sin I guess. None of us is perfect.
Janis Ian though, when a cute slender and pretty Jewish girl at the age of 13, had this advanced perception of racial issues. Then at age 16, a lovely beautiful young woman that she was, sung Societies Child before a national audience. Radio stations have been burned down because of the radicalness of Janis singing this song. She has experienced death threats because of the radicalness of the song and its lyrics.
Janis Ian Wikipedia. Check what it says under "music career". >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janis_Ian
Yet today, especially exemplified via the porn industry, a black man ravaging the ass hole of a hot babe white woman, is a common every day thing.
In the same context, I Psychedelic, have had my share of taboo rolling in the bed with hot babe black women too.