Janie never had a voice lesson, although the talent was clearly there. She had only two years of formal piano training, although her innate musical abilities were evident as a child. And she never took a production class, but she became legendary at BYU for larger-than-life shows.

Janie Thompson's lack of formal training never slowed her down - she has embraced music and entertainment all her life. Thompson was the tornado who energized BYU's performing arts program in 1952, and she remained a whirlwind director/producer/ entertainer until her retirement in 1984.

Former BYU president Ernest L. Wilkinson lured Thompson from her big band career with Ike Carpenter and challenged her to redirect her musical gifts toward supporting the talents of students.

Thompson's career included a stint singing with Tony Bennett, and in his autobiography, The Good Life, he wrote, "Janie was loaded with energy and excitement, and she really thrilled the crowds when she launched into a boogie-woogie number and accompanied herself on the piano."

She also completed a two-year singing tour in Europe and was a featured soloist in Los Angeles with Carpenter. After interrupting her career to serve an LDS mission in Wales, she had returned to California and arranged an interview for her old job with Carpenter when she received the call from BYU that changed her life.

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