Janis Joplin Dared to Be Different
By Nikhil Krishnan
Don McLean, in his famous 1971 song American Pie, was actually referring to Janis Joplin as he sang the famous line ‘I met a girl who sang the blues’. Janis Joplin was undeniably the Blues powerhouse of her time; she emerged as the leading female figure in the late 1960s rock scene when it was essentially dominated by male musicians. Deeply influenced by traditional blues and folk, she explored their preliminary roots in the soil of Rock & Roll through her Psychedelic rock music.
Music critic Lillian Roxon wrote the following of Janis Joplin, “Janis Joplin perfectly expressed the feelings and yearnings of the girls of the electric generation – to be all woman, yet equal with men; to be free, yet a slave to real love; to reject every outdated convention, and yet get back to the basics of life.”
Janis Joplin was born to Seth and Dorothy Joplin on January 19, 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas. During her high school years, she molded her critical, authoritative vocal technique according to singing styles of powerful Blues and folk vocalists such as Bessie Smith, Leadbelly, Odetta and Billie Holiday. Joplin was labeled an eccentric girl and a misfit at her high school and was often taunted for her hobbies of music and painting, and for her dressing and hair style. She nevertheless continued to be the way she was even when attending the University of Texas, where the local student newspaper ran a profile on her tilted She dares to be Different. Her characteristic of being different and standing out would remain synonymous with her for the rest of her life.
Joplin initially performed solo at coffeehouses in Austin accompanying herself with an acoustic guitar. Eventually, she started to get some attention from performance reviewers and Psychedelic bands looking for a lead vocalist. Her major breakthrough was in 1966 when she caught attention of an emerging Psychedelic band named Big Brother and The Holding Company. Though their music was not commercially successful initially, critics recognized Joplin as a great talent who just needed a breakthrough to achieve the success that she and the band deserved. It was not until their second album Cheap Thrills, that Joplin found a good equilibrium between commercial and critical success.
Janis Joplin’s vocal style was heavily acclaimed and described as a strong bluesy force that was wild, screaming and uninhibited yet still focused and deliberate. She was often mistaken to be a black soul vocalist when her breakthrough hit Piece of My Heart aired on radios. Joplin was not only a stunning vocalist but also a spectacular stage performer. Her performance with Big Brother and The Holding Company at the 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival alongside Simon & Garfunkel and The Who and her performance at the legendary 1969 Woodstock Concert alongside Jimi Hendrix have been considered some of the finest live performances ever.
Unfortunately and ironically, Joplin destroyed herself at the age of 27 by an overdose of heroin similar to Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison who died in the same year of 1970. Her posthumous album, Pearl, has been her best-selling album featuring the revered country crossover Me and Bobby McGee and giving rise to a huge posthumous fan following.
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