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Janis Joplin Bio
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Janis JoplinThe term "rock chick" could have been invented for Janis Joplin. She grew up listening to blues singers, like Bessie Smith and Odetta, who would be a great influence on her blues rock style. Janis was born in 1943, in Texas and began singing folk and blues in high school. She moved to San Francisco in 1963 and joined Big Brother and the Holding Company three years later. Then Joplin found success with the band who would essentially become her backing group. During this period, Joplin experimented with drugs and drank heavily. The drinking would last throughout her lifetime.
Joplin and her band advanced from just being popular with the hippies in the San Francisco area, to securing a recording contract in 1967. They got terrific publicity after performing at the now legendary Monterey Pop Festival. A documentary film of the festival, made by D.A. Pennebaker, shows Cass Elliot appreciatively watching them from the crowd. It was the album Cheap Thrills that transformed Janis Joplin into a big star and produced a hit single, "Piece of My Heart." Janis and the band parted company and she went on to form a new backing band called Kozmic Blues Band. They too split, and the final backing group was the Full Tilt Boogie Band.
The posthumous release of the Pearl album was the best selling album for Janis Joplin, and it featured the best selling single with "Me and Bobby McGee" by Kris Kristofferson. There is another well known track called "Mercedes Benz," which Janis co-wrote with Beat poet Michael McClure. The album was produced by Paul A. Rothchild, who had worked with Phil Ochs and the Doors.
Tragically, Joplin’s lifestyle caught up with her and she died of a heroin overdose in 1970, at the age of twenty-seven. She had recently appeared twice in The Dick Cavett Show. The last recording sessions of Joplin’s life were for "Mercedes Benz," and she also had done a birthday greeting for John Lennon.
The legacy of Janis Joplin is valued today, as she was a pioneer in the world of rock, which was dominated by men at that time. As a white performer, she took the blues style and adapted it to her own throaty vocals. Pink acknowledged her influence on her career in the track "Unwind." A documentary was released in 2003 called Festival Express, about a train journey through Canada when Janis and various musicians rode the train and performed in various cities on the route. Bob Smeaton directed and the other performers included Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, The Band, and Buddy Guy. Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett, also known as Delaney & Bonnie were also on board.
Janis Joplin has been compared to Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, in that all three lived fast and died at the age of twenty-seven. It was rumored that Janis and Morrison had an affair.
The film The Rose was inspired by her life and the lead role was played by Bette Midler. Her life has also been adapted for a stage musical, with Janis being played on different occasions by pop singers Beth Hart and Laura Branigan.
The latest biographical tribute to Janis Joplin is a movie, scheduled for release in 2008. Titled Gospel According to Janis, she is played by Zooey Deschanel. Many actresses were attached to the part before final casting, including Renee Zellweger, Pink, Scarlett Johansson, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears. YUDDY |
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Janis Joplin - Melissa Etheridge sang a tribute song to her at the 2005 Grammys.
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Janis Joplin - Along with Jerry Garcia was heralded as one of the originators of the 'San Francisco Sound.' |
Janis Joplin - Joss Stone once performed a tribute to Janis Joplin.
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Janis Joplin - Dated Kris Kristofferson .
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Janis Joplin - Stevie Nicks and her band 'Fritz' opened for Janis Joplin.
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