Janis Lyn Joplin
(January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970)
was an
American singer
and songwriter.
One of the most iconic
and successful
rock performers
of her era,
she was noted for her
powerful
mezzo-soprano vocals
and her
"electric"
stage presence.
In 1967,
Joplin rose to prominence
following an appearance
at the
Monterey Pop Festival,
where she was the lead singer
of the then little-known
San Francisco psychedelic
rock band
Big Brother and the Holding Company.
After releasing two albums
with the band,
she left
Big Brother to continue
as a solo artist
with her own backing groups,
first
the Kozmic Blues Band
and then
the Full Tilt Boogie Band.
She performed at the 1969
Woodstock Festival
and on the
Festival Express
train tour.
Five singles
by Joplin reached
the
US Billboard Hot 100,
including a cover
of the
Kris Kristofferson song
"Me and Bobby McGee",
which posthumously
reached number one
in March 1971.
Her most popular songs
include her cover versions of
"Piece of My Heart",
"Cry Baby",
"Down on Me",
"Ball and Chain",
and
"Summertime",
as well as her
original song
"Mercedes Benz",
which was her
final recording.
Joplin died
of a
'heroin overdose
in 1970,
at the age of only 27,
after releasing
three albums
two with
Big Brother and the Holding Company
and one solo album
A second solo album,
Pearl,
was released in
January 1971,
three months after
her death.
It reached number one
on the Billboard 200.
She was posthumously
inducted into the
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
in 1995.
Rolling Stone
ranked Joplin
number 28
on its 2008 list
of the
"200 Greatest Singers of All Time",
dropping to number 78
in the 2023 list.
As of 2013,
she remains one
of the top-selling vocalists
in the United States,
with Recording Industry
Association of America
(RIAA)
certifications of
18.5 million albums sold.
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