Joplin, Janis

Joplin, Janis

▪ American singer
Introduction
born Jan. 19, 1943, Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
died Oct. 4, 1970, Los Angeles, Calif.

      American singer, the premier white female blues vocalist of the 1960s, who dazzled listeners with her fierce and uninhibited musical style.

      After an unhappy childhood in a middle-class family in southeastern Texas, Joplin attended Lamar State College of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin before dropping out in 1963 to sing folk songs and especially the blues in Texas clubs. After a long sojourn in San Francisco (during which she abused alcohol and amphetamines), she went back to Texas, only to return to San Francisco in 1966 to become the vocalist for Big Brother and the Holding Company at the recommendation of hippie impresario Chet Helms. Buoyed by Joplin's raucous, bluesy vocals, the hard-rocking band released an album on independent Mainstream Records, then stunned audiences at the in 1967 with a legendary performance highlighted by Joplin's rendition of “Ball and Chain” (a rhythm-and-blues (rhythm and blues) classic by Big Mama Thornton (Thornton, Big Mama)). Big Brother's first album for major label Columbia, Cheap Thrills (1968), went to number one (the single “Piece of My Heart” reached number 12), and onetime ugly duckling Joplin continued her transformation into a strong-willed, sexually aggressive rock icon.

      Leaving Big Brother, she formed the Kozmic Blues Band, reaching number five in 1969 with I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!. Joplin and the band performed at Woodstock but broke up shortly thereafter, and she became a regular heroin user. In 1970, engaged to be married, her life seemingly on track, Joplin was recording an album with her new group, the Full Tilt Boogie Band, when she died of an accidental overdose of heroin. Released posthumously, that album, Pearl, topped the chart in 1971, as did the single “Me and Bobby McGee.” Joplin's importance in the history of rock is due not only to her strength as a singer but also to her intensity as a performer, which flew in the face of the conventions that dictated how a “girl singer” should act. Her raw blues-soaked voice—influenced by Thornton, Leadbelly, and Bessie Smith (Smith, Bessie)—was matched by her uninhibited physical movements. The two elements fused in a mesmerizing display of soulfulness few had thought a white singer could pull off. Joplin's story is presented in a thinly veiled biographical film, The Rose (1979). She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Gillian G. Gaar

Representative Works

Big Brother and the Holding Company
Big Brother and the Holding Company (1967)
Cheap Thrills (1968)

The Kozmic Blues Band
I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969)

Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band
Pearl (1971)

Janis Joplin
In Concert (1972)

Additional Reading
Myra Friedman, Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin, new and updated ed. (1992), written by a woman who worked for Joplin's management company, presents the most thorough account of Joplin's life. Laura Joplin, Love, Janis (1992), is a moving portrait by her sister. David Dalton, Janis (1971), gives a vibrant “you are there” look at Joplin on the road. Feminist works on women musicians that include sections on Joplin are Robyn Archer and Diane Simmonds, A Star is Torn (1986); and Gillian G. Gaar, She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll (1992).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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… …   Universalium

  • Joplin, Janis (Lyn) — (19 ene. 1943, Port Arthur, Texas, EE.UU.–4 oct. 1970, Los Angeles, Cal.). Cantante de rock y blues estadounidense. Proveniente de una familia de clase media, huyó de residenciaa los 17 años y comenzó a cantar en Austin, Texas, y después en Los… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Janis Joplin — Datos generales Nombre real Janis Lyn Joplin Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • Janis Joplin — Janis Lyn Joplin (* 19. Januar 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas; † 4. Oktober 1970 in Los Angeles) war eine US amerikanische Sängerin. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Janis Lyn Joplin — Janis Joplin aus der Sicht eines Fans im Jahr 1969 Janis Lyn Joplin (* 19. Januar 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas; † 4. Oktober 1970 in Los Angeles) war eine US amerikanische Sängerin …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Janis Joplin — Janis Joplin, peinture à l huile. Nom Janis Lyn Joplin Naissance 19 janvier  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Janis — may refer to *Janis Joplin (1943 1970), American singer and songwriter *Janis Bojars (born 1956), Soviet shot putter *Janis Kelly (born 1971), Canadian volleyball player *Irving Janis, a social psychologist who pioneered the groupthink theory… …   Wikipedia

  • Jānis — Janis oder Jānis ist ein Vorname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung 2 Bekannte Namensträger 2.1 männlich 2.2 weiblich 3 Siehe auch …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Janis Joplin — Infobox musical artist Name = Janis Joplin Img capt = Janis Joplin, San Jose, California, 1968 Img size = 250 Landscape = Yes Background = solo singer Birth name = Janis Lyn Joplin Born = birth date|1943|1|19 Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. Died = death …   Wikipedia

  • Janis Joplin — noun United States singer who died of a drug overdose at the height of her popularity (1943 1970) • Syn: ↑Joplin • Instance Hypernyms: ↑singer, ↑vocalist, ↑vocalizer, ↑vocaliser * * * Janis Joplin …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”