Janis Joplin

Iconic blues and rock singer Janis Joplin grew up in Port Arthur, Texas—a self-described “misfit” inspired by the music of Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, and Big Mama Thornton.

∙ In 1966, she joined the psychedelic-rock band Big Brother & The Holding Company and was soon known on the San Francisco music scene for her flamboyant style and powerhouse vocals.
∙ Joplin’s star-making set with Big Brother at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival is considered one of the greatest live performances of the era and earned the band a major label deal.
∙ In 1968, Big Brother’s Cheap Thrills—featuring Joplin’s wailing, explosive rendition of Erma Franklin’s R&B hit “Piece of My Heart”—spent eight weeks at No. 1.
∙ After leaving Big Brother, she hit the road in 1969 with her newly assembled Kozmic Blues Band and recorded the Gold-selling LP I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!.
∙ Released just a few months after her death in 1970, her final album, Pearl, went to No. 1 and spent 42 weeks on the Billboard 200, selling more than 4 million copies in the US alone.
∙ “Me and Bobby McGee”—Pearl’s Kris Kristofferson-penned country ballad which topped the Pop charts in 1971—was the only No.1 single of her career.
∙ She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and was posthumously given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award ten years later.
∙ Rolling Stone named Joplin one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and also included her on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.