Janis Joplin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Janis Joplin
Joplin in 1970
Born	Janis Lyn Joplin (1943-01-19)January 19, 1943 Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Died	October 4, 1970(1970-10-04) (aged 27) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Singer songwriter musician
Awards	Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy Hall of Fame
Musical career
Genres	Psychedelic rock soul blues blues rock
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1962–1970
Labels	Columbia Records
Signature

Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American rock singer and songwriter; one of the most successful and widely-known female rock stars of her era. After releasing three albums, she died at the age of 27. A fourth album, Pearl, was released in January 1971, just over three months after her death. It reached number one on the Billboard charts.

Joplin was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. NPR dubbed Joplin as "The Queen of Rock" and named her one of the 50 Great Voices. She remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States, with Recording Industry Association of America certifications of 18.5 million albums sold.

Early life

Joplin as a senior in high school, 1960

Janis Lyn Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas, to Dorothy Bonita East (1913–1998), a registrar at a business college, and her husband, Seth Ward Joplin (1910–1987), an engineer at Texaco. She had two younger siblings, Michael and Laura. The family belonged to the Churches of Christ denomination.

Joplin stated that she was bullied in high school. As a teen, she became overweight and suffered with acne. Other kids at high school would routinely taunt her and call her names. She stated, "I was a misfit. I read, I painted, I thought."

Joplin graduated from high school in 1960 and attended Lamar State College of Technology in Beaumont, Texas during the summer and later the University of Texas at Austin (UT), though she did not complete her college studies. While at UT she performed with a folk trio called the Waller Creek Boys.

Career

Joplin rose to fame in 1967 at Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco 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.

Five singles by Joplin went into the Billboard Hot 100, including a cover of the song "Me and Bobby McGee", which reached number 1 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"; and her original song "Mercedes Benz", her final recording.

Joplin is now remembered best for her powerful, distinctive voice, significantly divergent from the soft folk-influenced styles most common at the time, as well as her lyrical themes of pain and loss.

Death

Janis Joplin's Porsche - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Joplin died on October 4, 1970 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 27. She was cremated in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California, and her ashes scattered into the Pacific Ocean in a burial at sea. The album Pearl was released six weeks after her death. The movie The Rose, with Bette Midler playing the Joplin character, was based on her life.

Personal life

Joplin was at different times in a relationship with Peter de Blanc, Country Joe McDonald (who wrote the song "Janis" at Joplin's request), David (George) Niehaus, Kris Kristofferson, and Seth Morgan (from July 1970 until her death, at which time they were allegedly engaged).

Discography

Janis Joplin recorded four albums in her four-year career. The first two albums were recorded with and credited to Big Brother and the Holding Company; the later two were recorded with different backing bands and released as solo albums. Posthumous releases have included previously unreleased studio and live material.

Studio albums

As lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company

As solo artist

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

As lead of Big Brother and the Holding Company

As solo artist

Images for kids

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  Joplin (seated) with Big Brother and the Holding Company, c. 1966–1967 photograph Bob Seidemann

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  Joplin performs with Tom Jones on This Is Tom Jones in late 1969

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  Newspaper review of Joplin's 1969 concert at Vets Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio includes the fact that before it started she walked to the lobby and watched audience members arrive.

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  Joplin photographed by Jim Marshall in 1969, one year before her death

See also

In Spanish: Janis Joplin para niños