Janis Joplin

Her screams of anguish became the epitome of female rock in the 60s,
until drugs took over her life and eventually killed her.
 

REAL NAME: Janis Lyn Joplin

BIRTH PLACE: Port Arthur, Texas

BIRTH DATE: January 19, 1943

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
    Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
    Cheap Thrills (1968)
    I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969)
    Pearl (1971)
    Joplin in Concert (1972)
    Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits (1973)
    18 Essential Songs (1995)

DEATH: October 4, 1970. She overdosed on a combination of alcohol and heroin.

OTHER INTRIGUING FACTS:
    Janis Joplin attended Lamar Tech College before falling into the local music scene, then returned in 1965 under a sociology major.
    In the summer of 1963, she performed at the Monterey Folk Festival, before getting in a motorcycle accident. She also performed at Woodstock and the International Pop Festival in 1969.
    In 1965, she attempted to get herself committed to the San Francisco General Hospital, but was not accepted.
    The first major band she was in was called Big Brother and the Holding Company. She recorded two official albums with them in 1968. For the latter part of her career, she was with the Kozmic Blues - who disbanded in 1970. 
    She made the cover of Rolling Stone in 1969 - the cover story was entitled "Janis Joplin: The Judy Garland of Rock?"
    Her only #1 hit, "Me and Bobby McGee," made its run on the charts in March 1971 - a few months after she had died.

For more information, see www.officialjanis.com