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"At Seventeen" is a song by American singer-songwriter
Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...
from her seventh studio album ''Between the Lines''. Columbia released it in July 1975 as the album's second single. Ian wrote the lyrics on the basis of a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' article and used a
samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
instrumental, and Brooks Arthur produced the final version. A pop and
soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...
ballad, the song is about a social outcast in
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
. Critics have regarded "At Seventeen" as a type of
anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...
. Despite her initial reluctance to perform the single live, Ian promoted it at various appearances and it has been included on compilation and
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
s. Critics praised "At Seventeen", which earned Ian the
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...
, and Grammy nominations for Record and Song of the Year. The single reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and had sold over a million copies as of August 2004. Internationally, "At Seventeen" charted in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. It is one of Ian's most commercially successful songs, considered by critics her
signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...
. "At Seventeen" has been used frequently in television and films, like ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' and '' Mean Girls''; it has also been referenced in literature. Various recording artists and musicians, including
Anita Kerr Anita Jean Kerr (''née'' Grilli; October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and ...
, Jann Arden, and
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
, have covered "At Seventeen". The Hong Kong
all-female band An all-female band is a musical ensemble, musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universa ...
at17 at17, consisting of Eman Lam and Ellen Joyce Loo, were a Hong Kong–based folktronica and Cantopop all-female band managed by People Mountain People Sea (label), People Mountain People Sea. Biography Loo and Lam first met each other at a s ...
named themselves after it in 2002.


Background and recording

"At Seventeen" was written by
Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...
at the age of 23 and produced by Brooks Arthur. She was inspired to write the single after reading a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' article about a young woman who thought her life would improve after a debutante ball and her subsequent disappointment when it did not. Ian (2008): pp. 152-155 In the article the girl was 18, but Ian changed it to 17 to fit with her
samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
guitar instrumental. She recalled feeling uncomfortable while writing "At Seventeen" as it predated the confessional song trend of the 1970s. She was also uncertain about writing about
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
when she had never experienced a
homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...
or a prom. 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. At the time, she was living with her mother. During the recording process, which Ian described as "very tense", she worried she had accidentally stolen the
melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...
from a different song and consulted three friends about it. Arthur described the song as "just honest and straight from her heart", and felt it was different from folk or
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...
. He said Ian was easy to work with as she had prepared by bringing lyric sheets and arrangements to the studio sessions. Arthur and Ian had worked together on her 1966 single " Society's Child", during which they formed a close friendship. "At Seventeen" was completed in roughly two or three days at 914 Sound Studios; it was recorded on September 17, 1974. Sullivan (2013): p. 794 The final version contains two combined takes, as the initial ending was deemed too weak compared to its start.
Allen Klein Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 – July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased pr ...
listened in during a session and responded positively to the song. Brooks Arthur, Larry Alexander, and Russ Payne were the
audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...
s for "At Seventeen".


Composition and lyrics

"At Seventeen" is composed in the key of
C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...
using
common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...
and a moderate
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 126 beats per minute. Instrumentation is provided by a piano and a guitar. During the track, Ian's
vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...
spans from the low note of G3 to the high note of A4. Some commentators connected the song to bossa nova. ''Mix'' magazine's Gary Eskow cited Ian's style as the opposite of
Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian ...
's because she "explore the belly of the bossa, the flip side of
Ipanema Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone (Rio de Janeiro), South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the populari ...
". John Lissner of ''The New York Times'' referred to the instrumental as having a "laid-back bossa nova beat" and
ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...
. On the other hand,
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
s Lindsay Planer referred to "At Seventeen" as a mixture of
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, and
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, and music scholar James E. Perone associated it more with jazz and a "coffeehouse folksinger" approach. Perone (2012): p. 45 Perone described the song's style as more restrained compared to Ian's contemporaries. A writer for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine associated "At Seventeen" with "sulk-pop". "At Seventeen" is a pop and
soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...
ballad about being a social outcast in high school, particularly with respect to adolescent cruelty and rejection. The lyrics focus on the conflict between cliques as represented by the contrast of "ravaged faces" and "clear-skinned smiles". The song opens with the line "I learned the truth at seventeen, that love was meant for beauty queens". The narrator reveals in the third verse that she finds herself unattractive ("Those of us with ravaged faces"), but later provides a more hopeful outlook through an " Ugly Duckling" allusion ("Ugly duckling girls like me"). Ian said "The Ugly Duckling" lyric was partially inspired by
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...
, who described her music as always containing a sense of hope. Ian wrote the last verse ("To those of us who knew the pain / of valentines that never came") to connect directly with the listener. Other lyrics include home-staying social outcasts' pastimes like "cheat ourselves at
solitaire Solitaire may refer to: Film and television *'' Le Solitaire'', a 1987 French film * ''Solitaire'' (1991 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Solitaire'' (2008 film), a drama film *''Solitaire'', 2016 Lebanese comedy film with Bassam Kousa *"Solit ...
/ inventing lovers on the phone / repenting our lives unknown", and remembering "The valentines I never knew / the Friday night charades of youth." Some commentators viewed "At Seventeen" as a type of
anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...
. Melissa Etheridge and ''Billboard'''s Patrick Crowley interpreted the song as a gay anthem. Crowley equated the awkwardness described in the lyrics to the confusion over one's
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
. Etheridge interpreted the line ("I learned the truth at seventeen") as discovering one's
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
. Ian has said she was initially surprised at the
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
support given to the song. NPR included "At Seventeen" in its 2018 series on American anthems.


Release and promotion


Release

Ian's manager and CBS felt the song was too long, and CBS was uncertain how to market a song with so many lyrics. Producer Herb Gart had suggested that "When the Party's Over" be released as the
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
from Ian's seventh studio album ''Between the Lines'' rather than "At Seventeen". He reasoned that radio personalities would choose "At Seventeen" as the better single and feel smarter than the record label. Alternatively, Arthur thought "When the Party's Over" was a more appropriate choice. Gart asked radio stations to play only the first sixty seconds of "At Seventeen" followed by an advertisement for the song to encourage people to call in and request the rest. Ian said that Gart's promotional strategies were successful. Ian (2008): p. 163 "At Seventeen" was first released in July 1975. It was made available as a 7 inch single on November 20, 1976, through Columbia; "Stars" and "Applause" were used as
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
s on two separate single releases. The album version was four minutes and forty-three seconds long, and the single version was cut down to three minutes and fifty-six seconds. On February 14, 1977, (
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
), Ian was sent 461 Valentine's Day cards in reference to the lyric ("Of valentines that never came"). Symons (2015): p. 8 She has subsequently included "At Seventeen" on
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
s. A remastered version of ''Between the Lines'', including "At Seventeen", has also been made available; on August 4, 2014, Ian released an acoustic version of "At Seventeen" through her label Rude Girl Records.


Live performances

Ian was initially hesitant to perform the single live, describing it as deeply personal and fearing public ridicule. She closed her eyes while singing it for the first six months because she was afraid the audience would laugh at her. She later said that the frank lyrics encouraged
pathos Pathos appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. ''Pathos'' is a term most often used in rhetoric (in which it is considered one of the three modes of persuasion, alongside ethos and ...
from the listeners. Ian went on a promotional tour for the single and performed at small shows for almost half a year. These appearances included a British
morning show Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...
where
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
was promoting their 1975 single "
Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...
". In the beginning, Ian toured with a drummer, bass player, and her tour manager. Ian said she knew the song was successful when the size of the audience grew from 100 to 800. Ian sang "At Seventeen" on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''s first episode on October 11, 1975, and the following year, she performed it on ''
The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...
'' at the Shepherd's Bush BBC Television Theatre. She also sang it on an episode of ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
'', with guest host Steve Lawrence. Ian and Howard Stern performed a parody of the single to spoof then 38-year-old
Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...
's relationship with high school senior Shoshana Lonstein at the ''Miss Howard Stern New Year’s Eve Pageant'' on December 31, 1993. Revised lyrics included "can't he get an older girl". Lucaire (1997): p. 191 She performed the song as part of the Women in Music: 1960-1999 concert, aired by
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
in 1999. Ian performed a
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
version of the song, entitled "Welcome Home (The Nebulous Song)," at a banquet for the 2008
Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...
s. The version included references to science fiction authors and publications. Ian sang "At Seventeen" for the 2016
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5  ...
' American Songbook series and the 2018 Cambridge Folk Festival. The same year, she recorded an acoustic version to include on the app for Wally Lamb's novel ''I'll Take You There''; it included a soundtrack containing eight songs, including "At Seventeen". Some of Ian's performances have been released on
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
s.


Critical reception and accolades

"At Seventeen" received a positive response from critics. A contributor for '' The Jewish Chronicle'' praised it as "a moving and memorable appraisal of teenage loneliness". Twiggy commended the song for perfectly representing the awkwardness of being a teenager, and compared it to her own experiences growing up. ''The Advocate'''s Gina Vivinetto summed up "At Seventeen" as "the best song about growing up female ever written". Brittany Spanos, writing for ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'', attributed the song's success to Ian's intimate delivery of its subject, likening it to
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
's fourth studio album ''Blue'' (1971). Jeff and Don Breithaupt wrote that the song was "lifted above the level of generic moping by a sharply detailed lyric". Breithaupt & Breithaupt (2014): p. 156 John Lissner described "At Seventeen" as "mellow ndimprove with each hearing", along with the songs "When the Party's Over", "From Me to You", and "Bright Lights and Promises". Alternatively, Idolator's Mike Wass criticized "At Seventeen" as a "self-pitying and usually annoying single girl anthem". Ian received the
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...
for "At Seventeen" at the
18th Annual Grammy Awards The 18th Annual Grammy Awards were held February 28, 1976, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1975. Award winners *Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Record of the Year ...
, and the song was nominated for record and song of the year. Breithaupt & Breithaupt (2014): pp. 197-198 She performed the song as part of the ceremony. "At Seventeen" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008, and is considered Ian's
signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...
. According to Mike McPadden of
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
, the single had made Ian a "major mainstream folk-rock performer".


Commercial performance

"At Seventeen" peaked at number three on the September 13, 1975 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and remained on it for twenty weeks. It reached number one on the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
''Billboard'' chart for two weeks in August 1975, and stayed on the chart for fifteen weeks. It also peaked at number one on the ''Cashbox'' top 100 chart, and number six on its year-end pop singles chart. On the ''Billboard'' Year-End chart, "At Seventeen" ranked number nineteen. It also reached number twenty for pop and number two for
easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
. According to ''Billboard'', the song enjoyed a resurgence in sales after the Grammy Awards in 1976. "At Seventeen" also appeared on international charts. In Canada, the single peaked at number one on the ''RPM'' pop music playlist and number six on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart. On ''RPM'''s top two-hundred songs of 1975, it ranked number seventy-one. "At Seventeen" reached number thirty-seven on the
New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...
for the week of October 10, 1975. In Australia, it peaked at number eighteen on the
Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
, Kent (1993) and was included at number eighty on the year-end chart. Ian cited the song's commercial success as making her an example of the
American dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...
. It was her first successful single since "Society's Child", and her biggest success overall. ''
The Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene ...
''s Lewis Taylor referred to a 1970s release of "At Seventeen" when Ian was broke, and music critics deemed her music not commercially viable, as the first of many comebacks. As of August 2004, the song has sold over a million copies.


Usage in media

"At Seventeen" has been a popular choice for film and television soundtracks. It was played in the 2001 film '' Scotland, PA'', an adaptation of the
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
play ''
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
''. The character Donald Duncan, portrayed by Geoff Dunsworth, is shown listening to the single in a scene Professor Jennifer Drouin interpreted as indicative of his
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
identity. Drouin (2013) The song can be heard in the background of a scene in the 2004 film '' Mean Girls''. Some critics felt it represented the character named Janis Ian.
Liz Lemon Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series '' 30 Rock''. She created and wrote for the fictional comedy-sketch show ''The Girlie Show'' and later ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''. She is ...
(portrayed by
Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...
) performed a karaoke version of "At Seventeen" in a season one episode of ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
''. '' The A.V. Club'''s Erik Adams described the scene as a callback to Fey's work on ''Mean Girls''. "At Seventeen" was included in the 2013 film ''Blood Ties''.
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
, writing for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', criticized the song's placement in the film, and believed it belonged in "a softer and gentler movie" instead. It is also featured in the first season of '' The End of the F***ing World'', the fifth season of ''The Blacklist'', and in anti-bullying advertisements. The single was featured in three episodes of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'': " A Streetcar Named Marge", " El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer", and " Chief of Hearts". In "A Streetcar Named Marge", the lyrics are changed to describe the contestants of a
beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...
. ''The A.V. Club''s Nathan Rabin cited the scene as representative of the episode's satire on "loneliness and despair ransformedinto crowd-pleasing entertainment through wildly inappropriate showmanship". In "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer", the song is used during Homer Simpson's search for a soulmate. Sarah Oliver of ''The A.V. Club'' felt it reflected the character's melancholy. "At Seventeen" has also been referenced in literature. Eugenides (1993): pp. 190-191 It was named in Jeffrey Eugenides' 1993 novel '' The Virgin Suicides'', where four girls imprisoned in their own homes use it and other songs to communicate with the narrator and his friends.
Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...
titled his short story "Inventing Lovers on the Phone" from a line of "At Seventeen". Ian said that Card's work had inspired her own music, specifically the track "This House" from her 1993 studio album '' Breaking Silence''.


Formats and track listings

* 7" single 1 # "At Seventeen" –3:56 * 7" single 2 # "At Seventeen" –3:56 # "Stars" – 4:41 * 7" single 3 # "At Seventeen" –4:41 # "Applause" – 4:00 * Digital download # "At Seventeen" –4:19


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
of ''Between the Lines''. * Acoustic bass – Richard Davis * Acoustic (steel string) guitar – Janis Ian, Al Gorgoni, David Snider * Vocals, Arrangement (horns) – Janis Ian * Drums – Barry Lazarowitz * Engineer – Brooks Arthur, Larry Alexander, Russ Payne * Flugelhorn – Burt Collins * Guitar (nylon) – Sal DeTroia, Janis Ian. Single version also featured Bucky Pizzarelli * Percussion – Barry Lazarowitz * Producer – Brooks Arthur * Trombone – Alan Raph * Written by – Janis Ian


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Release history


Cover versions

"At Seventeen" has been covered by various recording artists and musicians.
Anita Kerr Anita Jean Kerr (''née'' Grilli; October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and ...
covered it for her 1975 album ''The Anita Kerr Singers'', which
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
Mary A. Bufwack and music reporter Robert K. Oermann attributed to popularizing the song. Bufwack & Oermann (2003): p. 248 Claude Francois recorded a French version of the song, titled "17 ans", in 1975, Mireille Mathieu too in 1977 with French lyrics by Eddy Marnay (LP "Sentimentalement vôtre" disque d'or) Lecoeuvre (2017) In 1988,
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
singer Judith Cohen performed a cover of "At Seventeen" in her shows. Stephen Holden said that her performances of the song Bruce Roberts' "I Don't Break Easily" were "built to strong dramatic climaxes in which a key line abruptly changed the narrative perspective". Tara MacLean recorded the song for the 1999 movie '' Teaching Mrs. Tingle'', and Paul Clinton believed the film's soundtrack added "energy and pacing to the story". Chocolat covered a Yoshinori Sunahara-produced "At Seventeen" for her 1999 second studio album ''Hamster'', which ''Billboard'''s Steve McClure described as having a "dark, ambient feel". Ringo Sheena recorded the track "Seventeen" as a tribute to the Janis Ian song; Sheena cited Ian as one of her major influences, particularly for her voice. The
all-female band An all-female band is a musical ensemble, musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universa ...
at17 at17, consisting of Eman Lam and Ellen Joyce Loo, were a Hong Kong–based folktronica and Cantopop all-female band managed by People Mountain People Sea (label), People Mountain People Sea. Biography Loo and Lam first met each other at a s ...
chose their name partially based on the Janis Ian song. They did a
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
version for their 2002 studio album ''Meow Meow Meow''. New Zealand singer Amber Claire released her version of "At Seventeen" as the second single from her 2004 debut album ''Love and Such''. It debuted and peaked at number twenty-eight on the
Official New Zealand Music Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...
. The same year, Gwyneth Herbert included her rendition on her second studio album '' Bittersweet and Blue''; a reviewer from ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' described the version as "pop angst". DHT covered the song with Edmée Daenen for their debut studio album ''Listen to Your Heart'' (2005). AllMusic's David Jeffries enjoyed their cover, and described it as lacking the camp style previously used by the band. Sitti did a cover for her debut studio album '' Café Bossa'' (2006), and her live album '' My Bossa Nova Live!'' (2008). Producer Kenneth Ehrlich requested
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
perform the song as part of a 2008 Grammy Nominations TV special. For her rendition, Dion sang it with only her band on stage. She included it on her Las Vegas residency show '' Céline'', and recorded a Babyface-produced cover for her eleventh English-language studio album '' Loved Me Back to Life'' (2013). According to Steve Morse of the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', the album version contains "a light Brazilian feel". Some critics praised Dion's performance, with ''
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'''s Eric Henderson writing it perfectly represents the singer as a "manic, Hallmark card-brandishing guru of schmaltz". On the other hand, Stephen Erlewine of AllMusic called the cover "thoroughly colorless adult contemporary." Dion also performed "At Seventeen" as part of a medley with her singles " A New Day Has Come" (2002) and "
Unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...
" (1990) for her tour Celine Dion Live 2018.
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
sang "At Seventeen" during the top three of the fifth season of '' Canadian Idol''. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'''s Grady Smith praised her rendition for showcasing her breathy vocals, while Evan Sawdey of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' found it to be unoriginal and tone-deaf. Jann Arden released her cover of "At Seventeen" as a single from her seventh studio album '' Uncover Me''. Arden said that it was the first song she learned to play on the guitar, and identified it as a "perfect coming of age song". AllMusic's Stewart Mason described Arden's take as "downright spooky". The cover peaked at eighty-four on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
''Billboard'' chart on May 5, 2007, and remained on the chart for six weeks. Arden performed "At Seventeen" on her Uncover Me Tour in 2007. She included the live version on her
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
exclusive
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
(EP) ''Live Session'', released in 2007. In 2008, Regine Velasquez recorded a cover of the song on her fifth
cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
'' Low Key''. For the album, she included songs that she wanted to sing since childhood. The same year,
Rhonda Burchmore Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM (born 15 May 1960) is an Australian entertainer, most notable as an actress, recording artist and singer in musical theatre, she has appeared in numerous television shows and briefly ...
included her rendition of "At Seventeen" on her studio album ''Pure Imagination''. Burchmore chose the song based on what the ''
Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...
'''s Jill Fraser referred to as "a deliberate move to more popstyle songs". "At Seventeen" is performed as part of the musical ''I Dreamed a Dream''. It was one of several pop covers used to tell the life of Susan Boyle, which Emma Clayton of ''
Telegraph & Argus The ''Telegraph & Argus'' is the daily newspaper for Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is published six times each week, from Monday to Saturday inclusive. The newspaper has offices in Newhall Way, Bradford, from where its journalists work ...
'' praised as a smart idea.
Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from ' ...
performed the song at the Feinstein's/54 Below as part of a 2015 event celebrating female singer-songwriters. The same year, Alessia Cara included a song entitled "Seventeen" on her EP '' Four Pink Walls'', which the ''Rolling Stone'''s Brittany Spanos called a "savvy update" of the Ian original. Saffron Monsoon (portrayed by Julia Sawalha) did a karaoke version of "At Seventeen" in the 2016 film '' Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie'' in a bar with
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...
s. The version was included on the film's official soundtrack. Rachael Yamagata recorded "At Seventeen", along with other covers, to finance her fourth studio album ''Tightrope Walker'' (2016). In 2018, American singer Sarah Partridge covered "At Seventeen" for her album ''Bright Lights and Promises: Redefining Janis Ian.'' Partridge recorded her version with a septuple meter.


See also

* List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1975 * List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1975 (U.S.)


References


Citations


Book sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{authority control 1970s ballads 1975 songs 1975 singles Cashbox number-one singles Celine Dion songs Columbia Records singles Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Janis Ian songs Pop ballads Rock ballads Songs about teenagers Songs written by Janis Ian