![]() The group frequented local working-class bars in the nearby town of Vinton, Louisiana. Joplin was also inspired by legendary blues vocalists Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Odetta, an early leading figure in the folk music movement. ![]() Musically, Janis Joplin and her friends gravitated toward blues and jazz, admiring such artists as Lead Belly. Joplin eventually developed a group of guy friends who shared her interest in music and the Beat Generation, which rejected the standard norms and emphasized creative expression (Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg were two of the Beat movement's leading figures). She was called a "pig" by some, while others said that she was sexually promiscuous. Joplin, who liked to stand out from the crowd, became the target of some teasing as well as a popular subject in the school's rumor mill. She eschewed the popular girls' fashions of the late 1950s, often choosing to wear men's shirts and tights, or short skirts. She got acne and gained some weight.Īt Thomas Jefferson High School, Joplin began to rebel. Joplin was a good student and fairly popular until around the age of 14 when some side effects of puberty started to kick in. Four years later, her brother, Michael, arrived. She was an only child until the age of six, when her sister, Laura, was born. For years, Joplin struggled to escape from this confining community, and spent even longer to trying to overcome her memories of her difficult years there.ĭeveloping a love for music at an early age, Joplin sang in her church choir as a child and showed some promise as a performer. She grew up in a small Texas town known for its connections to the oil industry with a skyline dotted with oil tanks and refineries. Breaking new ground for women in rock music, Joplin rose to fame in the late 1960s and became known for her powerful, blues-inspired vocals. Joplin was born on January 19, 1943, in Port Arthur, Texas. The singer died of an accidental overdose on October 4, 1970, at age 27. The album received mixed reviews, but her second project, Pearl (1971), released after Joplin's death, was a huge success. Known for her powerful, blues-inspired vocals, Joplin released her first solo effort, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, in 1969. However, friction between Joplin and the band prompted her to part ways with Big Brother soon after. Their 1968 album, Cheap Thrills, was a huge hit. Since her death, Joplin’s albums have gone gold, platinum, and triple-platinum Joplin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.Janis Joplin developed a love of music at an early age, but her career didn't take off until she joined the band Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1966. Aside from her music legacy, her rebellious style is recognized in some artistic circles as being highly influential even to this day. She is listed as number 46 on Rolling Stone’s list of greatest artists as well as number 28 on their list of greatest singers. Joplin remains an icon for female singers as breaking through in a male dominated blues scene. ![]() After her death in 1970 from a heroin overdose, Full Tilt Boogie Band released its first album titled “Pearl” which became Joplin’s biggest selling album. The band received mostly good reviews from fans and critics alike. The Kozmic Blues Band broke up after their performance at Madison Square Garden soon after Woodstock 1969.ĭrifting in and out of heroin addiction, Joplin was involved in another project known as Full Tilt Boogie Band the group she gave her last performance with. Unfortunately, Joplin’s shaky physical state during the performance stemming from her heroin addiction and a ten hour wait after arrival created a poor performance which was not included in the documentary although the director’s cut includes her performance of “Work me, Lord”. Although the newly formed band’s release did not match the popularity of Big Brother’s “Cheap Thrills”, the band did appear at Woodstock. ![]() “Īfter breaking away from Big Brother, Joplin launched a solo career which consisted of a new backup group called the Kozmic Blues Band. TIME magazine described Joplin as “Probably the most powerful singer to emerge from the white rock movement. This is the album that contains the popular gut-wrenching track “Piece of my Heart”. The band’s second album “Cheap Thrills” reached the number one spot on the Billboard charts only eight weeks after its release. Big Brother and the Holding Company’s documented performance at the Monterey Pop Festival launched her into the spotlight.
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