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Janis Joplin was a rock idol, hippie legend, feminist, style icon and blues mom – with a voice like a hurricane. Today she would have been 80 years old.
Stuttering, croaking, moaning and screaming, Janis Joplin got lost in her music. According to music historian Holly George-Warren, she revolutionized the music scene in the 1960s with her passionate voice and ecstatic stage performances.
She has engaged extensively with the singer: “The way Joplin brings a song to life, the way her emotions come through in her singing and the incredible connection she was able to create with her audience – none of this existed before in rock ‘n’ roll.”
Her tough road to becoming the first female rock star
But it’s a rocky road to get there. Janis Joplin grew up in bourgeois Port Arthur, Texas in the 1940s. She feels out of place right from the start, unpopular with her schoolmates, struggling with her chubby build, acne and untamed hair.
Legend:
Always smiling – but appearances are deceptive: Janis Joplin struggled with insecurity and loneliness.
AP Photo
But the music gives her support. First Joplin sings in the church choir, then she discovers the blues. At the age of 18 she decided to become a singer – against all odds.
Janis Joplin Against Patriarchy
“A lot of what Janis Joplin did was unusual for a woman at the time. She was ahead of her time,” stresses George-Warren. While in the 1960s women didn’t produce their own recordings and men dominated the stages, Jans Joplin made all the decisions himself in the studio.
Legend:
Always a little extravagant: the American singer-songwriter posed with her Porsche Cabriolet in 1969. In 2015, Joplin’s favorite car fetched nearly $1.8 million at auction.
Photo by RB/Redferns
On stage she shows full physical commitment. “Janis was sweating. Her hair was a mess and when she did wear makeup it was all messed up,” says Holly George Warren. “She created her own look and didn’t try to match the ideal of beauty at the time.”
More success – more lonliness
In 1966, Janis Joplin joined the blues rock band “Big Brother & The Holding Company” in the hippie metropolis of San Francisco. Just one year later, she celebrated her breakthrough at the International Monterey Pop Festival, and in 1969 she became internationally known through her performance at the Woodstock Festival.
Janis Joplin finally seems to be getting the recognition she’s always craved: “She made the audience rush the stage and dance with her while she sang. She loved it,” says Holly George-Warren.
Legend:
Joplin’s powerful blues voice fascinates to this day. Here performing with her Kozmic Blues Band.
AP Photo/File
Despite her success, Janis Joplin remains lonely. “I make love on stage with 25,000 people and then I go home alone,” the singer once said. Although she is a happy and funny young woman, she also struggles with self-doubt. She drinks a lot, uses drugs.
Your music stays forever
On October 4, 1970, Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. A terrible accident, says Holly George-Warren: “Some people have nothing to lose but their freedom. This also applies to Janis. Unfortunately she made a mistake. She wasn’t afraid to try dangerous drugs and it killed her.”
What remains is their incredible music. The day before her death, Janis Joplin is in the studio and sings, among other things «Mercedes Benz». In hindsight, it seems like she wanted to say goodbye to the world in a way with this song. Because “Mercedes Benz” ends with a spoken “That’s it” and a happy, snotty giggle from the singer.