![]() ![]() But even Janis on an off-night was incredible.” Joplin asked that her set not be included in the Woodstock documentary film, as she wasn’t happy with her own performance. She also made a major appearance at Woodstock in Who I Am: A Memoir, Pete Townshend wrote of Joplin’s set: “She had been amazing at Monterey, but tonight she wasn’t at her best, due, probably, to the long delay, and probably, too, to the amount of booze and heroin she’d consumed while she waited. Throughout 1969, Joplin made appearances on popular TV programs like The Dick Cavett Show and This is Tom Jones. Her first solo album, I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, was recorded with her new back-up group, the Kozmic Blues Band. Janis Joplin performing with Tom Jones (Uploaded to YouTube by Tom Jones) That excitement only escalated with the release of the Holding Company’s second album, Cheap Thrills, which contained one of Joplin’s finest moments, “Piece of My Heart.” With tensions escalating in the band over Joplin’s increasing fame and other issues, Joplin departed for a solo career at the end of 1968. Tremendous buzz surrounded the powerful young singer. One of the biggest moments was the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967 even among Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, and The Who, the band made a big impression with Joplin up front. Through two years and two albums, Joplin’s incredible vocal styling drew more and more attention. “Piece of My Heart” (Uploaded to YouTube by Janis Joplin) Joplin became an official member in June of 1966. However, San Francisco beckoned again when she was invited to join the band Big Brother and the Holding Company. Experiencing some severe issues with drugs, Joplin returned to Texas and tried to find a new direction in her life, even recording some acoustic tracks. After a short unfinished stint in college in her native Texas, she made her way to San Francisco in 1963. Janis Joplin started singing folk and blues in her teens. Pearl, released 50 years ago this week, held the top spot for nine weeks and yielded Joplin’s only #1 single. ![]() Her contemporaries marveled at her Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane said that she would just open her mouth and “let it out,” while no less an authority than Tina Turner praised her for her authenticity, saying that “she wasn’t trying to be anything else other than Janis Joplin.” Unfortunately, that voice was gone too soon, silenced at age 27 from an accidental overdose in October of 1970. That sound stretches across the decades, the mighty howl of a blues Valkyrie that still reverberates with soul and meaning. But that’s simply not possible when it comes to the voice of Janis Joplin. It’s all too easy to romanticize something in hindsight, to attribute to it greater power than what it had. ![]()
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