Not everyone can be a young musical prodigy, but we toss our hats off to those who are. Here are three songs from the 60s that were penned by teenagers.
“My Cherie Amour” by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder wrote this one when he was just 16 or 17 years old. At the time, he was still studying at Michigan School for the Blind. “My Cherie Amour” ended up being Wonder’s eighth top ten hit. Even as a teen, it’s clear that he had a way with words.
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“My cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore / You’re the only girl my heart beats for / How I wish that you were mine.“
“Up, Up and Away” by The 5th Dimension
Made famous by The 5th Dimension, this one was written by Webb at the young age of 18. Through 5th Dimension’s version of it, “Up, Up, and Away” won multiple Grammy Awards. In 1968, it won Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It also won Best Performance By A Vocal Group, Best Performance By A Chorus and Best Contemporary Song.
“It was the greatest experience of my life in a way, because it was the first time I had been really set free,” Webb told Songfacts of recording this song. “I had been working in the studio with Johnny Rivers and Mark Gordon co-producing, and I was just kind of a gopher. I went around and did everything…”
“Society’s Child” by Janis Ian
People can say that kids don’t have depth, but I would like to use this song as a rebuttal. Ian wrote this song about interracial relationships when she was 13 and finished it when she was 14. Where Ian went to school, she was actually one of a few white kids. Growing up in New Jersey in the 60s gave her an interesting perspective on civil rights issues.
“My parents were the complete opposite of the parents in the song,” she shared with Songfacts. “They wouldn’t have cared if I married a Martian, as long as I was happy… I felt bad for my Dad because everyone assumed he was a racist.”
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