Janis Ian’s Song, “One Mississippi” Featured on Eric Bibb’s 2026 Release
Published
Janis Ian’s Song, “One Mississippi”
Featured as Title Track on
Blues Legend Eric Bibb’s January 2026 Release
Songwriter’s Influence Noted by Robert Smith of The Cure
And With Recent Covers by Frank Turner
And Grant Maloy Smith
Varda Bar-Kar Directed Acclaimed Documentary Film,
Janis Ian: Breaking Silence,
Gains Media Praise
And International Film Festival Laurels
The Star-Studded Feature
Available in Select Theaters, on DVD,
And Video-on-Demand
Los Angeles – Janis Ian’s performances have captivated audiences around the world, and the songs she has written have been cherry picked for other artists to perform, including “Jesse” (Roberta Flack), “Amsterdam” (Joan Baez), and “This Old Town” (Nanci Griffith). Ian’s song “Stars” has been covered by artist across all genres of music including Nina Simone, Mel Torme, Cher, and Glen Campbell. This coming January, blues legend Eric Bibb will release his cover of Ian’s song “One Mississippi,” on his new album of the same name.
Ian’s initially delivered “One Mississippi” as a haunting performance of just her vocals accompanied by guitar. The song, which was written by Ian and Fred Koller, was released on her 2001 album Unreleased 3: Society’s Child. The third release in a series of albums that featured songs that had been covered by other artists but never put out by Ian, demos for projects that never happened, and alternate versions of songs that record companies would not release, as well as a live, acoustic version of her hit “Society’s Child.”
Bibb choose “One Mississippi” as the only cover song and title track for his new album of what was to be only original compositions coming January 30, 2026. The album captures him at his most soulful, socially conscious and musically adventurous. He says, “The title song of my new album, One Mississippi, was written by my high school friend, Janis Ian, with Fred Koller. This new collection of stories, from a not-too-distant American past and a tense global present, is a call for peace, justice, and unity in a divided world.”
Last year, Ian’s song “Memphis,” which was co-written with Deana Carter, was the only cover song on Grant Maloy Smith’s album Mississippi: American Stories. The track also featured Ian on piano and guitar. And this week, Frank Turner released a cover of Ian’s song “Better Times Will Come,” on his new triple vinyl set, The Next Ten Years.
Ian’s songwriting has also influenced other notable songwriters. In an interview with Uncut magazine, Robert Smith of The Cure mentioned Ian when asked about what songs informed him as a writer for The Cure’s 2024 album Songs of a Lost World. He said, “Janis Ian’s ‘Tea And Sympathy’ – that has the mood and emotion I tried to capture on this album.”
As Janis Ian continues to make her mark as an award-winning singer-songwriter, author, and activist, a new documentary about her extraordinary journey through the first six-plus decades of her life is making an equal impact on audiences worldwide. Throughout the past year, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, a film directed by Varda Bar-Kar, has opened to acclaim and accolades.
Worldwide screenings have been held at film festivals in countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Ireland, and the US, as well as in theaters across the US where Ian and Bar-Kar often appeared for in-person Q&A sessions. It had its national broadcast debut on PBS’ American Masters in the US and Canada, and in the Netherlands on the Dutch public broadcasting station, NPO 2.
Critics have praised the feature, with Rolling Stone stating “Janis Ian is a living, breathing trailblazer. Let’s Listen to her.” SPIN notes in a feature about the documentary, “Before Billie Eilish, broke many ‘youngest ever’ records, before Chappell Roan became a queer icon, before Carole King brought Semitic sex appeal to the stage, before Taylor Swift’s spiteful Taylor’s Versions, before Phoebe Bridgers gave a voice to mental health issues, before Kathleen Hanna shouted about women’s issues and Tracy Chapman about race issues, there was Janis Ian.”
After seeing the film, Deadline called Ian “one of the great songwriters of all-time, (she) is a captivating raconteur,” while NPR’s Fresh Air adds “Ian is captivating,” and Best Classic Bands said “you can’t help but like (Ian), and to root for her, while simultaneously marveling at her sheer talent and impenetrable braveness.”
Janis Ian: Breaking Silence features Janis Ian, friends, and collaborators, including Joan Baez, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Laurie Metcalf, and Arlo Guthrie.
It tells the story from the beginning in the mid-60s, when Ian, a teenage singer-songwriter from New Jersey, scores a controversial hit single called “Society’s Child,” about an interracial love relationship. The song launches her illustrious career but also ignites death threats, plunging her into an emotional tailspin – only to emerge from the ashes in the 1970s with an even bigger hit, “At Seventeen,” ahead of its time in confronting lookism and bullying. Ian overcomes significant obstacles – embezzlement, record industry misogyny, homophobia, and heartbreak – to find love and produce an indelible body of searingly honest songs that earned her a devoted following and critical acclaim.
In addition to screenings, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence is currently available on video-on-demand and for purchase on DVD. For more details on go to: www.janisiandocumentary.com
One Mississippi
Fred Koller/Janis Ian
Deep in the heart of Dixie, where cotton’s still the king
If you slide on down to the Delta, you can hear those banjos ring
Might be the muddy water
Comes in the spring with the rain
or a poor boy down on parchment farm
aAt the end of a ball and chain
Singing One Mississippi is a long time
Gone in the blink of an eye
Two Mississippi is a lifetime
The years just drift on by
M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i
If you stand on the banks of the river
As the evening sun goes down
When the cattails shake and shiver
You can hear that lonesome sound
Might be the moon on the water
Or the old grey ghost in the trees
Or the scent of the sweet magnolia
Rising on the breeze
Singing One Mississippi is a long time
The days just drift on by
M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i
And the riverboat floats by like a ghost
on its way down to New Orleans
The paddle wheel turns, the coal smoke burns
from the heart of the Delta Queen
If you head on past the levee, down a road that’s got no name,
there’s a white cross on the hillside,
and the sign says “Jesus saves”
And when that congregation
begins to sing and shout
you can hear those rafters rattle
in the land of the cottonmouth
Singing One Mississippi is a long time
The days just drift on by
M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i
© Rude Girl Pub./Lucrative Music. All rights reserved.
About Janis Ian
Janis Ian is 10-time GRAMMY nominee (three-time winner) whose songs and performances have resonated with a diverse group of fans for more than six 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 36 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.
Never one to rest on her laurels, Ian continues to release new projects. In May 2025, the never- released single “One In A Million” performed by Ian and Joan Baez was made available. Co- written by Ian and Jess Leary, it is an anthem for change and a reminder that your dreams are still attainable, do not lose hope.
And in June, Janis Ian – From Me To You: Live In Bremen 2004 became available. The double-CD release is the first album of a full live-show in 47 years. For more information, please visit JanisIan.com.
She is also making appearances to support the theatrical release 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 (Max). The film made its broadcast premiere on PBS’ famed American Masters in June 2025 , features interviews with friends including Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Laurie Metcalf, and others.
# # #
