Janis Ian on Milt

by Janis Ian

10/20/2015

I came to him when he was at Frank Loesser’s publishing company, a down-on-her-luck one-hit-wonder, just hitting my twenties. Burt Haber had heard my song “Jesse” and fallen in love with that. He brought it to Milt, and they brought it to Frank. On that basis, I was given a contract and a writing room.

I cannot begin to tell you what that meant to me, having a place “of my own” in New York. I was staying with my mom, trying to get a record contract, and that room gave me a private space to work from and to meet people.

I’m not sure who placed “Jesse” with Roberta Flack, but I know that both Milt and Bert worked to keep it on her record for what seemed like decades… Its eventual release was what gave me credibility as a songwriter, and helped me begin my road back into the music business. I will always be grateful to them for that.