Biography Janis Lyn Joplin (19.01.194 3 - 4.10. 1970) was an American blues-influenced rock singer and occasional songwriter with a distinctive voice. Joplin released four albums as the front woman for several bands from 1967 to a posthumous release in 1971. Joplin was born at St. Mar y’s Hospital in Port Arthur, Texas. T he daughter of Seth Jop l i n, a wo r ke r of Texaco, she had two youn ger sibl ings, Michael and Laura. She grew up listen ing to blues musicians such as Bessie Smith, Odetta, and B i g M a m a T h o r nto n a n d s i ng i ng i n the l oca l choi r. Joplin graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School i n Po r t A r thu r i n 196 0 and went to college at the Universit y of Texas in Austin, though she never completed a degree. While at Thomas Jefferson High School, she was mostly shunned, but found a g roup of boys w h o a l l owe d h e r to ta g a l o n g . O n e of t h o s e b oy s, a fo ot b a l l p l a ye r n a m e d Grant Lyons, played her the
blues fo r t h e first time, an old Leadb e l l y re co rd. P r i m a r i l y a p a i nter, it was in high school that she first began singing blues and folk music with friends. Cultivating a rebellious manner that could be viewed as “liberated”- the women’s liberation m ove m e nt wa s s t i l l i n i t s i n fancy at this time - Joplin styled herself in par t after her female blues heroi nes, and i n pa r t af te r the beat poets. She left Texas for San Francisco in 1963, lived in Nor th Beach and in Haight-Ashbur y. Fo r a w h i l e she wo r ked occasionally as a folk singer. Around this time her drug use began to increase, and
she acqui red a reputation as a “speed freak” and occa s i o n a l h e ro i n u s e r. S h e also used other intoxicants. S h e wa s a h e a v y d r i n ke r throughout her career, and h e r t ra d e m a r k b eve ra g e was Southern Comfort. Like many other female singers of the e ra, Jan i s’ fei s t y pu blic image was at odds with h e r re a l p e r s o n a l i t y. T h e book Love, Janis, written by he r s i s te r, has done m uch to fur ther the reassessment of her life and work and revea l s the p r ivate Jan i s to have been a h ig h l y i ntel l ig ent, a r ticu l ate, shy and s e n s i t i ve wo m a n w h o wa s devoted to her family. After a retur n to Por t Ar thur to r e c u p e r a t e, s h e a g a i n moved to San Francisco in 196 6 , w h e r e h e r b l u e s y vo ca l s t y l e s a w h e r join Big B rother and The Holding Company, a band
that was gaining some renown among the nascent hippie community i n H a i g ht- A s h b u r y. The band signed a deal w i t h i n d e p e n d e nt M a i n s t ream Reco rds and recorded an eponymously titled album in 1967. However, the lack of success of their early singles led to the album being withheld until after their subsequent success. The band’s big break came with their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, which included a version of Big Mama Thornton’s “Ba l l and Cha i n” and fe a t u re d a b a r n s to r m i n g voca l by Jop l i n. ( T he D. A . Pennebaker documenta r y Mo nte rey Po p ca pt u red Cass Elliot in the crowd silently mouthing “Wow, that’s really heavy” during Joplin’s per formance.)
Their 196 8 a l bum “Cheap Thrills” featu red mo re ra w emotiona l pe r fo rmances and togethe r w i t h t h e M o nte rey per formance, it made Joplin into one of the leading musical stars of the late Sixties. After spl itting from Big B rother, she for med a new backup group, modeled on the classic soul revue bands, n a m e d T h e Ko z m i c B l u e s Band, w h ich backed he r on I Got Dem O l’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969: the year she played at Woodstock). That group was in d i f f e r e n t l y r e c e i ve d a n d soon broke up, and Joplin then formed what is arguably her best back ing g roup, T h e F u l l T i l t B o o g i e B a n d. The result was the posthumously released Pearl (1971). It became the biggest selling a l b u m of h e r s h o r t ca re e r a n d fe at u re d h e r b i g g es t hit single, the definitive co ver version of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee”, as well as the wr y social commentar y of the a capella “Mercedes- Benz”, written by Joplin and beat poet Michael McClure.
Among her last public appearances were two broadcasts of The Dick Cavett Show on June 25 and August 3, 1970. On the June 25 show she an nounced that she would attend her ten-year h i g h s ch o o l re u n i o n, a l t h o u g h s h e a d m i t te d t h a t when in high school she had been “laughed out of class, out of school, out of town, out of the state”. She made it there, but it would be one of the last decisions of her life and it reportedly p roved to be a rathe r un happy ex pe r ience fo r he r. S h o r t l y t h e re a f te r, d u ri n g t h e fa l l 1970 re co rd i n g sessions for the Pearl album w i t h D o o r s a n d Ph i l O ch s p ro d u ce r Pa u l A . Rot h child, Joplin died of an overdose of unusually pure heroi n and a l co hol, after being off of drugs
(clean) for some time. On October 4, 1970 at the Landmark Motor Hotel locate d a t 7 0 47 F r a n kl i n Ave, ro o m #10 5 i n H o l l y w o o d , C a l i fo r n i a , ag ed on l y 27. T he l as t re co rd i ng s she com p l eted were “Mercedes-Benz” and a b i r t h d a y g re et i n g fo r John Lennon on 1 October. She was cremated in the West wood Village Memo rial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California, and her ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean. The alb u m Pe a r l , re l e a s e d s i x weeks after her death, inc l u d e d a ve r s i o n of N i c k G ra ve n i tes s o n g “ B u r i e d A l i ve I n T h e B l u e s” ,w h i c h was left as an instrumental b e ca u s e J o p l i n h a d d i e d before she was able
to record her vocal over the b a ck i n g t ra ck . A m o n g t h e a r t i fa ct s at t h e Ro ck a n d Roll Hall of Fame Museum E xhibition are Joplin’s scar f a n d n e c k l a ce s , h e r 196 5 Porsche 356 Cabriolet with p s ych e d e l i ca l l y - d es i g n e d painting, and a sheet of LSD blotting paper designed by Robe r t Cr um b, des ig ne r of the Cheap Thrills cover.
WOODSTO LINEUP 16 VIII 196 DAY TWO Artists Quill Country Joe McDonald John B. Sebastian Keef Hartley Band Santana Incredible String Band Canned Heat Grateful Dead Leslie West & Mountain Creedence Clearwater Revival Janis Joplin Sly & The Family Stone The Who Jefferson Airplane
OCK CONCERT
69 Janis Joplin with The Kozmic Blues Band played 1. Raise Your Hand 2. As Good As You’ve Been To This World 3. To Love Somebody 4. Summertime 5. Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) 6. Kosmic Blues 7. Can’t Turn You Loose 8. Work Me Lord 9. Piece Of My Heart 10. Ball and Chain
Woodstock was the pop culture music event of the decade and arguably to this day the single most profound event in the history of music. Acts from all around the world met at Max Yasgur’s Farm in Bethel, on August 15-18, 1969 for a celebration of peace and music. What began as a paid event drew so many viewers from across the world that the fences were torn down and it became a free concert open to the public. 500,000 youthful individuals gathered peacefully at Woodstock 1969 creating the largest gathering of human beings in one place in history. Woodstock 1969 defined an entire generation and its effects on music and American culture can still be felt today.
Woodstock ‘69 featured one of the most prolific musical lineups in history including such icons as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Santana, and The Who. Fans got a taste of a variety of music styles which came together in perfect harmony. The crowd at Woodstock in 1969, which reached near a half a million people sent a message to the world that individuals could come together peacefully to celebrate peace and music.
1967 Big Brother & the Holding Company 1968 Cheap Thrills 1969 I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
discograph published after death:
1971 Pearl 1972 Joplin in Concert [live] 1973 Greatest Hits 1975 Janis [Original Soundtrack] 1980 Anthology 1982 Farewell Song 1983 Prime Cuts 1984 Cheaper Thrills 1993 Janis BoxSet 1995 18 Essential Songs 1997 Absolute Janis 1999 Box of Pearls 1999 Live at Woodstock 1969 2002 900 Nights 2005 Pearl, Legacy Edition
hy Janis in her career was playing with bands such as Big Brother & the Holding Company The Kozmic Blues Band Full Tilt Boogie Band