Janis Joplin • Piece of My Heart
50 years ago today, October 4, 1970, sadly Janis Joplin was found in her hotel room at the Landmark Hotel in Hollywood. She had apparently suffered from an accidental heroin overdose, combined also with a large amount of whiskey. Those who knew, were aware in 1969 and 1970, that she was using at least $200 worth of heroin per day. What goes up that high will inevitably come crashing down. And so it did for dear Janis....
Janis Joplin made her last studio recording on Oct. 1, 1970, recording ‘Mercedes Benz’ and a birthday greeting for John Lennon, whose birthday was October 9. Lennon later received her taped greeting at his home after learning of her death. On Saturday, October 3, Joplin was working at Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles to listen to instrumental tracks prior to recording her vocals, which were scheduled for the next day. But she never returned. When she later failed to show up at Sunset Sound on Sunday afternoon, her producer and manager became worried. Driving to the Landmark, John Cooke saw Joplin’s Porsche in the parking lot, and upon entering her room, he found her dead on the floor beside her bed.
Janis Joplin was only 27. She would later be identified with what sadly came to be known as the 27 Club. We discussed this on this site just two weeks ago in remembering Jimi Hendrix and the likewise 50th anniversary of his passing. This “27 club” is a grouping of famous musicians who experienced passing before their time, all at 27, usually due to a tragic cause such as drug abuse (the list includes at least 75 people such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison of The Doors, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, and Amy Winehouse, to name a few.
On Oct. 26, 1970, a wake was held at Lion’s Share in San Anselmo, California to celebrate the singer’s life. As if experiencing some kind of premonition about her own death, Janis had left $2,500 in her will to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. She was cremated in Los Angeles, and per her wishes, her ashes scattered from a plane into the Pacific Ocean and along Stinson Beach. Posthumously, Joplin had a 1971 US No.1 single 'Me And Bobby McGee,’ and the 1971 US No.1 album 'Pearl.’ She still remains one of the top-selling musicians in the U.S. with over 18 million records sold.
In 1966, Joplin’s bluesy vocal style attracted the attention of the psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, a band that had gained some renown among the west coast “hippie” community. Janice became lead singer, and the group soon signed a deal and saw their debut album released by Columbia Records in August 1967. The big breakthrough came with the release of their second album. Cheap Thrills topped the US charts for eight weeks and a star was truly born.
Janis never got the Mercedes-Benz she asked the Lord for in her iconic song. But she did already drive a 1965 Porsche Cabriolet Super C – which was painted in full 60s psychedelic fanfare (see photo above). Her career was just beginning to explode when it was cut short so prematurely. She was nicknamed the Queen of Psychedelic Soul. Who knows what amazing creative work may have been yet forthcoming. I suppose we’ll never know. We do know that we’ve missed 50 years of what might have been.
However, it’s probably best to focus on the body of musical work she left behind. That is still with us to be valued and appreciated.
Janis Joplin. Gone much too soon....
Check out her incredible sounds on Spotify:
Here is a video of Janis performing live her song “Piece of my Heart:”
Here is Janis with a rare and live television performance on The Dick Cavett Show doing the song “To Love Somebody:”
