Singer/Songwriter Janis Ian’s “Stars”

Celebrates 50th Anniversary This June

 

Three-Time Tony-Winning

Broadway Star Patti LuPone

Gives Fresh Take of “Stars”

In New Solo Show

Reviewer “Profoundly Affected”

by LuPone’s Moving Rendition

 

 

LOS ANGELES – In the middle of a busy and dynamic year that started with being recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Ireland’s TradFest, and will wind down with the much anticipated opening of her archives at Berea College in the fall, iconic singer/songwriter Janis Ian celebrates the 50th anniversary of her song “Stars” this June.

Throughout the years, the heartfelt ballad about the trials and tribulations of fame has become a timeless classic for music critics, fans, and fellow artists. AllMusic.com noted, “Ian’s reflections are almost naked in their intimacy as she looks within the psyche of celebrity and draws comparisons between the respective astral and physical bodies that ‘Stars’ inhabit, albeit briefly in either case.”

“Stars” is the title track from Ian’s album of the same name, which was produced by Brooks Arthur and released in 1974. “I stopped because I was writing rubbish,” explains Ian on the origins of the song. “I went away to find out if I could ever be the kind of writer I wanted to be. I wrote ‘Stars’ one night during 1971, and decided I had a shot.”

Shortly after its initial release, the song gained further popularity in 1976 when jazz/blues great, and Ian’s friend, Nina Simone performed “Stars” at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Recently, in a feature about the famed concert, The Guardian noted, “In the most affecting part of the performance, Simone covered Janis Ian’s ‘Stars,’ a sombre tune about artists past their prime. This part of the performance did, however, contain a classic example of Simone’s verve, when she admonished a concertgoer for trying to leave the casino hall before the song was over. ‘Hey girl, sit down. Sit down! Sit down!’” That version of the song was released posthumously in  2021’s Nina Simone: The Montreux Years, and Simone’s live recording from her 1985 set at Vine Street Bar and Grill in Hollywood was released on her album Let It Be Me.

Simone wasn’t the only star to gravitate to the song, having been covered by a wide variety of artists across various genres of music and in seven different languages. The impressive list includes Cher, Joan Baez, Shirley Bassey, Glen Campbell, Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp, Mel Torme, Sam Melo, Barbara Cook, Françoise Hardy, Marie Laforêt, Conny Vandenbos, Lisa del Bo, Manel, Euson, Martine Bijl, Aya Korem, Judi Connelli, Kate Dimbleby Band, Michel Montecrossa, and others.

Proving the song has what it takes to pass the test of time, “Stars” also played a pivotal role in the season finale of Netflix’s “BoJack Horseman” in 2016 in which New York magazine wrote, “‘Stars’ is utterly crushing. It’s the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen in an animated series.

And most recently, legendary Broadway star Patti LuPone began performing “Stars” in her new solo show, “A Life in Notes,” a musical memoir of sorts. And the three Tony Awards, two GRAMMY Awards, and inductee into the American Theater Hall of Fame is receiving rave reviews for her rendition of the song.

Writes Broadway World of LuPone’s recent Carnegie Hall show, “The song choices were so apt, the ones I was unfamiliar with seemed like they must have been written just for this show. Janis Ian’s ‘Stars,’ in particular, was so perfect. LuPone’s melancholy, slow rendition of it expressed the bitter side of fame.”

Likewise, Playbill said, “The masterful singing actor also scored with Janis Ian’s open-hearted show-business anthem ‘Stars.’” And Edge Media Network’s Frank J. Avella praised, “it was her stunning interpretation of Janis Ian’s ‘Stars’ that profoundly affected me. The moment was both recognition and revelation.”

“It’s great to see that after 50 years, ‘Stars’ still connects with audiences and inspires other performers. I’m honored that Patti LuPone has made it such a moving part of her new show,” says Ian.

 

About Janis Ian

Janis Ian is a 10-time GRAMMY nominee (two-time winner) whose songs and performances have resonated with a diverse group of fans for more than five decades. She is one of just a handful of artists who have received nominations in eight completely different categories. Raised by activist Jewish parents on a New Jersey farm, she currently lives in Florida with her partner and wife of 34 years.

Ian received her first GRAMMY nomination in 1967 for “Best Folk Album” with Janis Ian, featuring “Society’s Child.” She took home her first GRAMMY in 1975 for “Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female – At Seventeen,” and her second for “Best Spoken Word Album – Society’s Child: My Autobiography” in 2013. Her 2023 GRAMMY nomination for “Best Folk Album,” The Light at the End of the Line, brought her full circle.

Two of her most powerful songs, “Society’s Child” and “At Seventeen,” were inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2002 and 2008, respectively. She received the International Folk Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, and was honored by Ireland’s Tradfest and Ireland’s Minister of Culture in 2024 for Outstanding Achievements In the Arts.

Ian has been mining her treasure trove of music and memorabilia for a massive archival project, the Janis Ian Archives, that will open in October of 2024 at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, as well as preparing collections of rare and previously unreleased recordings. The first two releases, Live at the Calderone Theater 1975 and Worktapes & Demos Vol. 1, dropped last fall with more to come. She is also gearing up for the June 2025 broadcast on PBS’ famed American Masters of a documentary about her life and work. Janis Ian: Breaking Silence is helmed by award-winning director/producer Varda Bar-Kar, best known for Big Voice (Netflix, PBS) and Fandango at the Wall (HBO, HBOMax). Along with Ian, the film features interviews with friends including Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Laurie Metcalf, and others.

 

 

Stars
Janis Ian

I was never one for singing
what I really feel
except tonight, I’m bringing
everything I know that’s real

Stars, they come and go
They come fast or slow
They go like the last light of the sun, all in a blaze
And all you see is glory
Hey, but it gets lonely there,
when there’s no one here to share
We can shake it away, if you’ll hear a story

People lust for fame.
Like athletes in a game,
we break our collarbones and come up swinging
Some of us are downed.
Some of us are crowned
and some are lost and never found
But most have seen it all
They live their lives in sad cafes and music halls
They always have a story

Some make it when they’re young,
before the world has done its dirty job
And later on, someone will say –
“You’ve had your day. “You must make way”
But they’ll never know the pain
in living with a name you never owned,
or the many years forgetting
what you know too well
That the ones who gave the crown
have been let down
You try to make amends,
without defending

Perhaps pretending you never saw the eyes
of grown men of twenty-five,
that followed as you walked, and asked for autographs
or kissed you on the cheek –
and you never could believe they really loved you

Some make it when they’re old.
Perhaps they have a soul they’re not afraid to bare
or perhaps there’s nothing there

Stars, they come and go
They come fast or slow
They go like the last light of the sun, all in a blaze
And all you see is glory
Hey, but it gets lonely there,
when there’s no one here to share
We can shake it away, if you’ll hear a story

Some women have a body men will want to see
so they put it on display
Some people play a fine guitar.
I could listen to them play all day
Some ladies really move across a stage
and gee, they sure can dance
I guess I could learn how, if I gave it half a chance

But I always feel so funny when my body tries to soar
And I always seem to worry about missing the next chord
I guess there isn’t anything to put out on display
except the tunes, and whatever else i say

And anyway, that isn’t really what I meant to say…
I meant to tell a story I live from day to day

Stars, they come and go
They come fast or slow
They go like the last light of the sun,
all in a blaze,
and all you see is glory
But those who’ve seen it all
live out their lives in sad cafes and music halls
We always have a story

So if you don’t lose patience
with my fumbling around
I’ll come up singing for you
even when I’m down

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