Joplin, Janis (redirected from Janis Joplin)

Joplin, Janis (jŏp`lĭn), 1943–70, American blues-rock singer, b. Port Arthur, Tex. After dropping out of college (1963) and singing folk rock in Texas clubs, she moved (1966) to San Francisco and became lead vocalist of the rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. The following year the group performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, where the raw intensity of Joplin's voice and stage presence astonished the audience. The band's first major album, Cheap Thrills (1968), which included her iconic performance of "Piece of My Heart," catapulted Joplin to stardom. She left Big Brother in 1968, putting together her own backup group, the Kozmic Blues Band, and scoring a success with a 1969 album. By this time, Joplin was almost as well known for her flamboyant swigging of Southern Comfort, rumored drug use, and unconventional lifestyle as for her gritty, fierce, and sexually charged vocals. She had nearly completed the album Pearl (her nickname) when she died of a heroin overdose. Released in 1971, the record contained such classics as "Mercedes Benz" and "Me and Bobby McGee," her only No. 1 hit. Joplin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Bibliography

See memoir by her sister, L. Joplin (1992); biographies by D. Dalton (1971), M. Friedman (rev. ed. 1992, repr. 1999), and A. Echols (1999).

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Joplin, Janis (Lyn)

(born Jan. 19, 1943, Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.—died Oct. 4, 1970, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. rock and blues singer. Born to a middle-class family, she ran away from home at age 17 and began singing in Austin, Texas, and later in Los Angeles. She joined the band Big Brother and the Holding Company in San Francisco in 1966 and soon became famous for her raw, powerful, emotional blues style. The album Cheap Thrills (1968) contains some of her best-known recordings. After leaving the band, she continued to record hit songs, including “Me and Bobby McGee.” She died from an overdose of heroin at age 27.

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Joplin, Janis (Lyn) (1943–70) blues rock singer; born in Port Arthur, Texas. When she was 17 she performed with bar bands in Texas and California, then moved to San Francisco in 1966 where she joined Big Brother and the Holding Company. Their best-selling album, Cheap Thrills (1968), ensured her reputation as a unique blues and rock stylist. With the Kozmic Blues Band in 1969 and the Full Tilt Boogie Band in 1970 she released best-selling albums before her death by a heroin overdose.