Singer-songwriters were all the rage in the 1970s. A few have retained their popularity to this day, but many others, despite early success, later settled into a comfortably manageable fan base. Janis Ian is one of those artists. She first made waves in the late ’60s with “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking),” a controversial hit she wrote as a teenager. The next decade, she had a monster hit with “At Seventeen.”

Told by Ian herself in voice-over, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence blends the typical talking-heads format with reenactments to chronicle her career. Presented in chronological order, the documentary offers a solid, if uninspired, overview of Ian’s compelling life. Her father, a music teacher, was harassed by the government due to past Communist affiliations. As a young girl, her family moved to New York City, where she was one of the few White students in her school. Witnessing the backlash against an interracial couple holding hands on a school bus, she wrote her first hit, “Society’s Child.” She was thrust into stardom before she was even 18.

During the taping of a TV show, Bill Cosby allegedly saw 16-year-old Ian resting her head on the lap of her 21-year-old female chaperone backstage and insinuated they were lesbians. According to Ian, this rumor spread and damaged her career, leading to years in the wilderness until her comeback album, Between the Lines, featuring “At Seventeen.” The documentary follows these ups and downs, a familiar variation of the typical rise-and-fall arc of a musician—though Ian’s sound leans more toward folk than rock.

Ian narrates her own story but leaves most of the on-camera interviews to friends, fellow musicians, and celebrity admirers like Laurie Metcalf. The most illuminating moments come from the studio musicians who worked with her, offering a granular look at the recording process and praising Ian’s artistic vision and determination. One memorable anecdote involves Ian bringing in a young guitarist, David Snider, who had never recorded in a studio before. When a more experienced musician mocked him mercilessly, Ian gave the studio vet his walking papers.

The film could use some judicious trimming; at times, you feel its length. However, for those with an interest in folk-pop music and Janis Ian in particular, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence is a feast.