Janis Joplin Tribute
Live fast, die young – Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 — October 4, 1970) (nicknamed ‘Pearl’) sang the blues like no other white woman before or since. Janis was an American singer, songwriter, and music arranger, from Port Arthur, Texas who moved to San Francisco in 1966. In the same year she became a member of Big Brother and The Holding Company, and was a sensation at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
On the 4th of October 1970, singer Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. She was was found dead at the Landmark Motel in Hollywood. During the recordings of her album “Pearl” in 1970 Janis Joplin started using heroin again after having quit the drug for a period and this time she obtained a dose more pure than usual and she accidentally overdosed causing the tragic end to her life. “Pearl” was released posthumously and to word acclaim. Janis Joplin is one of the most influencial icons from the 60’s pop music and she is considered the best white female blues singer ever.
Blues-rock musician Janis Joplin’s screaming soulful voice in many ways is a personification of the Flower Power Era. She came to symbolize energy of the Psychedelic, Haight Ashbury, love beads, love ins, free love, flower children, black light posters and incense, expansion of consciousness, spiritualism soaked in the unusual drug idealism of the late 1960’s. It was a time of bright hope and optimism and the shedding of many social-psychological-sexual traditions.
On January 19,1988, the life and achievements of legendary rock’n roll/blues star, Janis Joplin, was showcased and recognized in her hometown with the dedication of the Janis Joplin Memorial on Janis’ birthday. The dedication featured a concert and the unveiling of the Southeast Texas Musical Heritage Exhibit, featuring an original, bronze, multi-image sculpture of Joplin by Douglas Clark. A record crowd of nearly 5,000 packed the Port Arthur Civic Center and took a musical trip down memory lane as nearly 20 area performers played the songs that brought them national recognition. It was a history-making night in music drawing national media coverage. The two-hour concert showcased a combination of music styles representative of Southeast Texas, including country, rhythm and blues, and Cajun.
In tradition of Southeast Texas music Janis’ birthday is celebrated annually when headline performers come to pay tribute to Janis and other musicians who came from the area. At the Museum of the Gulf Coast the “Music Hall of Fame” pays tribute to the contributions made in music and entertainment by people who lived along this coast.
“On stage,” Janis Joplin said, “I make love to 25,000 different people, then I go home alone.” A long time user of heroin and booze the wild lady of blues anticipated her own death — an OD in her hotel room while recording the solo album Pearl — and left $1500 in her will for a funeral party, where the Grateful Dead performed.
Video produced by http://www.truetraveler.com/
