''Stars'' is the sixth studio album 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 ...

, and the first of her seven for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. Ian had previously had a three-year hiatus from the music industry since her 1971 album ''

Present Company ''Present Company'' is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and her solitary album for Capitol Records. After her break-up with original producer Shadow Morton, and the failure of her final two Verve albums ''The Secret Life ...

''. In two years away from the music business, Ian wrote over 100 songs after moving to Los Angeles. She returned to play at the Philadelphia Folk Festival on August 17, 1973, and was signed by Columbia Records after several other companies rejected the songs she had written. While ''Stars'' was being recorded, the song "Jesse" became a hit for

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

. The album itself became Ian's most successful since her debut, peaking at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart.

Track listing

Personnel

*Produced by Brooks Arthur *Engineered by Brooks Arthur, Larry Alexander, Charlie Dreyer *Art Direction and Design: John Berg, Paul Perlow *Photography: Peter Cunningham *Production Coordinator: Herb Gart

Musicians

* Janis Ian – vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes * Larry Alexander – drums, tambourine * Raymond Beckenstein – soprano saxophone * Ralph Casale – acoustic guitar * Richard Davis – arranger, bass, pizzicato bass * George Devens – vibraphone * Sal DiTroia – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

George Duvivier George Duvivier (August 17, 1920 – July 11, 1985) was an American jazz double-bassist. Biography Duvivier was born in New York City, the son of Leon V. Duvivier and Ismay Blakely Duvivier. He attended the Conservatory of Music and Art, where ...

– bass * Jack Jennings – percussion * Barry Lazarowitz – arranger, drums, percussion *

Gene Orloff Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician. Background The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from th ...

– violin *

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally ...

– electric guitar * Don Payne – bass * Romeo Penque – saxophone * Al Rogers – drums *

Allan Schwartzberg Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. He has been a member of the rock band Mountain, Peter Gabriel's first solo band, toured with Brecker Brothers' Dreams, B. J. Thomas, Linda Ronstadt, Stan Ge ...

– drums *

John Tropea John Tropea (pronounced 'tro-pay'; born January 7, 1946) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. Career Tropea began guitar studies at the age of 12. His musical education continued at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied jaz ...

– acoustic guitar *

Eric Weissberg Eric Weissberg (August 16, 1939 – March 22, 2020) was an American singer, banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in moder ...

– electric guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar

Orchestra

* Bob Abernathy – French horn * Seymour Barab – celli * Seymour Berman – viola * Phil Bodner – alto flute, alto saxophone * Ariana Bronne – violin * Alfred Brown – viola * James Buffington – French horn * Frederick Buldrini – violin * Don Butterfield – tuba * Earl Chapin – French horn * Selwart Clarke – viola * Léon Cohen – clarinet * Burt Collins – trumpet * Joseph DeAngelis – French horn * Peter Dimitriades – violin * Paul Faulise – bass trombone * Ron Frangipane – arranger, conductor, piano * Mickey Gravine – tenor trombone * Marie Hence – violin * Wally Kane – bassoon *

Artie Kaplan Artie Kaplan (born 1935) is an American recording artist, songwriter and a session musician. He has also been a music contractor where he was hired to musicians for sessions. In the 1960s, he was casting musicians for sessions for Aldon Music. ...

– orchestra manager * Harold Kohon – violin * Bhen Lanzarone –

celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...

* Gloria Lanzarone – celli * Archie Levin – viola * Joseph Malin – violin * Richard Maximoff – viola * Charles McCracken – celli * Lloyd Michaels – trumpet * Romeo Pengue – clarinet, flute, oboe * Alan Raph – baritone horn * George Ricci – celli, cello soloist * Alan Rubin – trumpet * David Sackson – viola * Julius Schacter – violin * Joe Shepley – solo trumpet * Joseph J. Shepley – French horn * Bill Watrous – tenor trombone

Charts

References

{{Authority control Janis Ian albums 1974 albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Brooks Arthur