The lyrics focus on the conflict between cliques as represented by the contrast of "ravaged faces" and "clear-skinned smiles". "At Seventeen" is a pop and soft rock ballad about being a social outcast in high school, particularly with respect to adolescent cruelty and rejection. A writer for Rolling Stone magazine associated "At Seventeen" with "sulk-pop". Perone described the song's style as more restrained compared to Ian's contemporaries. Perone associated it more with jazz and a "coffeehouse folksinger" approach. On the other hand, AllMusic 's Lindsay Planer referred to "At Seventeen" as a mixture of pop rock, jazz, and blues, and music scholar James E. John Lissner of The New York Times referred to the instrumental as having a "laid‐back bossa nova beat" and ostinato. Mix magazine's Gary Eskow cited Ian's style as the opposite of Antônio Carlos Jobim's because she "explore the belly of the bossa, the flip side of Ipanema". Some commentators connected the song to bossa nova. During the track, Ian's vocal range spans from the low note of G 3 to the high note of A ♭ 4. Instrumentation is provided by a piano and a guitar. "At Seventeen" is composed in the key of C major using common time and a moderate tempo of 126 beats per minute. Problems playing this file? See media help. Brooks Arthur, Larry Alexander, and Russ Payne were the audio engineers for "At Seventeen". Allen Klein listened in during a session and responded positively to the song. The final version contains two combined takes, as the initial ending was deemed too weak compared to its start. "At Seventeen" was completed in roughly two or three days at 914 Sound Studios it was recorded on September 17, 1974. Arthur and Ian had worked together on her 1966 single " Society's Child", during which they formed a close friendship. He said Ian was easy to work with as she had prepared by bringing lyric sheets and arrangements to the studio sessions. Arthur described the song as "just honest and straight from her heart", and felt it was different from folk or pop music. ĭuring the recording process, which Ian described as "very tense", she worried she had accidentally stolen the melody from a different song and consulted with three friends about it. At the time, she was living with her mother. She said she purposely took her time with the song to ensure it did not lose its "intensity" she repeatedly stopped and started work on it over the course of three months. She was also uncertain about writing about high school when she had never experienced a homecoming or a prom. She recalled feeling uncomfortable while writing "At Seventeen" as it predated the confessional song trend of the 1970s. In the article the girl was 18, but Ian changed it to 17 to fit with her samba guitar instrumental. She was inspired to write the single after reading a New York Times article about a young woman who thought her life would improve after a debutante ball and her subsequent disappointment when it did not. "At Seventeen" was written by Janis Ian at the age of 23 and produced by Brooks Arthur. The Hong Kong all-female band at17 named themselves after it in 2002. Various recording artists and musicians, including Anita Kerr, Jann Arden, and Celine Dion, have covered "At Seventeen". "At Seventeen" has been used frequently in television and films, like The Simpsons and Mean Girls it has also been referenced in literature. It is one of Ian's most commercially successful songs, considered by critics her signature song. Internationally, "At Seventeen" charted in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The single reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and had sold over a million copies as of August 2004. Despite her initial reluctance to perform the single live, Ian promoted it at various appearances and it has been included on compilation and live albums.Ĭritics praised "At Seventeen", which earned Ian the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Grammy nominations for Record and Song of the Year. Critics have regarded "At Seventeen" as a type of anthem. A pop and soft rock ballad, the song is about a social outcast in high school. Ian wrote the lyrics on the basis of a New York Times article and used a samba instrumental, and Brooks Arthur produced the final version. Columbia released it in July 1975 as the album's second single. " At Seventeen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian from her seventh studio album Between the Lines.
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