Janis Lyn Joplin (Born: January 19, 1943, Died: October 4, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter who belted out rock, soul, and the blues. Joplin was one of the most successful and widely known rock stars of her era; she was noted for her powerful and raspy vocals and her “electric” stage presence.
Ball and Chain (Monterey, 1967)
Momma Cass Elliot was wowed!
In 1967, Joplin rose to fame following an appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of a little-known San Francisco psychedelic rock band called Big Brother and the Holding Company.
After releasing two albums with Big Brother, Janis Joplin left to continue as a solo artist with her own backing groups, first the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band. She performed at Woodstock and with the Festival Express train tour. Five singles by Joplin reached the Billboard Hot 100, including a cover of the Kris Kristofferson song “Me and Bobby McGee,” which hit #1 in March of 1971
This next video was produced by a fan named Jeffrey A as a tribute to 1960s rock legend Janis Joplin. Along with the audio are some great historical images of her. It’s an amazingly beautiful homage.
Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster wrote “Me and Bobby McGee,” which Roger Miller originally sang. Janis Joplin killed it with her great cover of this song.
Bobby McGee (Best HD Quality)
Her most popular songs include her covers of “Piece of My Heart,” “Summertime,” “Cry Baby,” and “Down on Me,” and her original song “Mercedes Benz,” which became her final recording.
Sometime you just have to let the artist speak for themselves …
Piece of My Heart (Live in Germany, 1968)
Summertime (Recorded live at Winterland, 1968)
Cry Baby
Down On Me (Newport Folk Festival, 68)
Janis Joplin … a little bit of rock, a good bit of soul, and a mega-dose of blues. Sadly, she lived her music. In 2005 the Grammys gave Janis Joplin a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for being one of the greatest rock singers of all time.
Mercedes Benz (Original)
Janis recorded this on October 1, 1970. She died on October 4th. Rest in Peace. Janis Joplin will always have a little piece of my heart.
Janis Joplin died in 1960 of an accidental heroin overdose. She was 27-years-old. She had released three albums.
Her fourth album, Pearl, was released in January 1971, three months after her death. It quickly climbed to number one on the Billboard charts.
Joplin was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. She remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States, with Recording Industry Association of America certifications of 18.5 million albums sold.
D.C. Gilbert 
She was a star that burned so bright it could not last. She had a passion for singing that was unmatched and obvious to anyone who listened. She left us too soon, but left behind some wonderful music! Great post, Mr. G!
Yes. A genuine shooting star.
Now, that is one woman who lived hard!
Yes, she sure did!
Thanks for a terrific post. I was a big fan of hers.
By the way, I always look forward to your Tunes for Tuesday. Good job!
Barbara
Thanks. It is a fun series of posts to do.
Love Janis. Me and Bobby McGhee was one of my favorites.
She was definitely a force to be reckoned with. I liked her a lot too! I think she had a style you either loved or hated … not a lot of middle ground.