6. Janis Ian
Who She Is: A singer-songwriter who released her first album in 1967. While receiving much praise for her style, she didn't have any substantial success commercially until 1975 when she released her 7th studio album Between The Lines. The album hit number one on the Billboard charts, possibly due in part to the success of the album's lead single, At Seventeen, which also earned a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Despite never having again reached the same level of success as that, she has remained active (her latest album as recent as 2006!), and has also shown herself skilled in many other fields such as writing as a columnist and science fiction author!
Sample Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMUz2TNMvL0
Official Website:http://www.janisian.com/