''Who Really Cares'', released in 1969, is the fourth 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 her last for Verve Forecast. Unlike her previous three albums, ''Who Really Cares'' was produced not by

Shadow Morton George Francis "Shadow" Morton (September 3, 1941 – February 14, 2013) was an American record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the 1960s. In particular, he was noted for writing and producing "Remember (Walking in ...

but by

Charles Calello Charles Calello (born August 24, 1938) is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track ...

, who had attracted attention for producing

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

's '' Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' a year earlier. The title was taken from Ian's first book of poetry, published shortly after the album's release. At the time she made ''Who Really Cares'', Janis Ian was in a crisis following her initial success with "

Society's Child "Society's Child" (originally titled "Baby I've Been Thinking") is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian in 1965. Background Its lyrics concern an interracial romance – a still-taboo subject in mid-1960s America ...

". She had attempted suicide, taken cocaine with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and seen her parents split as she moved into her own apartment. Her previous album '' The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink'' failed to dent the ''Billboard'' albums chart due partly to an unsupportive Verve and partly to her audience moving away from the depressing tone of her albums. She also was originally asked to compose the music for the film '' Four Rode Out'' but never did so. ''Who Really Cares'' was almost entirely ignored by the music press upon its release in fall 1969 and failed to return Ian to the top 200, and her contract with Verve was consequently not renewed. During her period of prominence in the 1970s, Janis Ian distanced herself from her Verve albums, calling them "a tax write-off for Verve", and saying specifically that ''Who Really Cares'' "did not contain enough

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

s". Apart from one encore performance of "Time on My Hands" at the Long Center in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

, on October 29 of 1974, she is not known to have performed anything from ''Who Really Cares'' since 1972, nor has the album ever been represented on any of her career compilations.

Track listing

References

{{Janis Ian 1969 albums Janis Ian albums Albums produced by Charles Calello Verve Records albums