Janis Joplin ~ Panegyric

Janis Joplin, 1969 - The greatest female rock singer of the 1960s, Janis Joplin epitomized the turbulence of her era. An original hippie, she fully embraced the lifestyle. Born in Texas and raised in Port Arthur, she ran away from home at 17 and began her career singing folk music in coffee houses and clubs in small Texas towns. For a time she wandered from Venice Beach in LA to Greenwich Village in New York City, eventually landing in San Francisco in 1966. That same year, she was offered a gig to sing with Big Brother and the Holding Company and soon became the band’s lead singer. It didn’t take long for her to become associated with the counter-culture of the ‘60’s and to become its poster child. Known for her gravel-voiced shrieks and her distinctive stage presence, Janis Joplin had an innate ability to emit sexuality and passion when she performed. Her free spirit and aggressiveness redefined the role of women in rock and roll with her assertive, sexually forthright persona and raunchy, electrifying on-stage presence. Scavullo spoke of their photo shoot with affection. “I had a fabulous afternoon with Janis Joplin. She was so different from what I thought she would be. When she walked in the studio, I didn’t know her and she didn’t know me. I started photographing and Janis began dancing and singing. I fell in love with her instantly. It was a magical, incredible day. I think one of the things she wanted was to be beautiful and she knew she just wasn’t.” Janis Joplin died the year after this photo was taken, tragically overdosing on heroin in a Hollywood hotel. "Me and Bobby McGee,” a single from her last album (“Pearl”), became a posthumous number one single in 1971, and thus the song with which she is most frequently identified. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ "I gotta go on doin’ it the way I see it. Hey, man, I ain’t got no choice but to take it like I see it … I’m here to have a party, man, as best I can while I’m on this earth. I think it’s your duty to. When I’m ready to retire I’ll tell you about it. If I start worrying about everything I’m doing, you know, like – like this’ll give you cholesterol or cirrhosis or some other dumb, unaware trip, I’d just as soon quit now. If that’s what I gotta do to stick around another forty years, you can have it … I’m gettin’ it now, so I’m just gonna keep on rocking, cause if I start saving up bits and pieces of me like that, man, there ain’t gonna be nothing left for Janis." ...Janis Joplin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"Janis knew more than I did about 'how it was', but she lacked enough armor for the inevitable hassles. She was open and spontaneous enough to get her heart trampled with a regularity that took me thirty years to experience or understand. On the various occasions when we were together, she seemed to be holding in something she thought I might not want to hear, like older people do when they hear kids they love saying with absolute youthful confidence, 'Oh, that'll never happen to me.' Sometimes you know you can't tell them how it is, they have to find out for themselves. Janis felt like an old soul, a wisecracking grandmother whom everybody loved to visit. When I was with her, I often felt like a part of her distant family, a young upstart relative who was still too full of her own sophistry to hear wisdom. Did we compliment each other? Yes, but not often enough." -- Grace Slick ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"I remember thinking that Janis Joplin sang like Mae West talked. When I first heard the primal scream in 'Piece Of My Heart,' I was hooked. 'Cheap Thrills,' Janis 'Live' with Big Brother And The Holding Company, was one of my all time faves. During the 'whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa's' in 'Combination Of Two,' I couldn't help but go to the mirror and pretend I was a wild woman like Janis, in a rock band." -- Joan Jett ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"I think she allowed women to have their pain. Her thing was so borne from her pain. Her amazing talent was because of the pain she had...I think she was so misunderstood, and she was so intelligent, emotionally intelligent, and what came out of her was almost beyond what her physical body could even do as a singer, and what she was putting across." -- Nancy Wilson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"The thing that really got me about Janis the most, was how liberated she was. She stood in that power even though it was kind of that platform of blues of being completely tormented, that enabled her to just stand there and let it go at a time when woman were not doing that...she just came out in the completely undone, unwrapped way and I think spoke right out of a woman's soul. Directly." -- Ann Wilson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"The thing about Janis is that she just looked so unique, an ugly duckling dressed as a princess, fearlessly so. Seeing her live (Blossom Music Center, Richfield, Ohio 1970) was like watching a boxing match. Her performance was so in your face and electrifying that it really put you right there in the moment. There you were living your nice little life in the suburbs and suddenly there was this train wreck, and it was Janis." -- Chrissie Hynde ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"I only saw Janis Joplin one time--on a hot summer day in San Jose, California, at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds...She was extraordinary. She had a connection with the audience that I had not seen before, and when she left the stage--I knew that a little bit of my destiny had changed--I would search to find that connection that I had seen between Janis and her audience. In a blink of an eye--she changed my life." -- Stevie Nicks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"A lot of people helped me along way back when I was just getting started and I didn't think what I was writing was any good. Like at the Chelsea, people like Johnny Winter; Janis Joplin were always at me. They were,' You gotta keep going. Everybody need poets. The world needs poets'" -- Patti Smith (Radio interview 1976) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"She's a Hell's Angels' bike lady and she drugs and she smokes and she swears and she's one of the boys...........it was just too much. She was the first girl to be one of the boys, but in doing so she let go of her......what made her strong as a woman, and she gave in to the image and she lived it offstage as well as on, and I think that's kinda sad. I think that's why she ended up dead." -- Suzi Quatro ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"We were too young, too rich and too happy to be suicidal." -- Grace Slick (In reflection of Janis' overdose) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"Janis didn't, you know, do steps or anything, but she had this fabulous way of using her body that was very original; very much her own. I loved her." -- Bette Midler ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"I once served a steak to Janis Joplin at Max's Kansas City. She was quiet and very polite. She didn't eat her steak but left a five dollar tip." -- Deborah Harry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"The most influential women performers for me personally have been.......Janis Joplin. The way she had of sorta just emoting on stage in such a way that it was almost that you felt like you were barging in on some personal experience she was having. Maybe a woman is expected to be a certain way, you know, and perhaps bounding around on stage and slinging a guitar is very unlady like .....(Laugh)" -- Maria McKee (Formerly of Lone Justice) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"Janis had the friendly warm smile that is so rare and she gave them to everyone so freely." -- Yoko Ono ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"I began feeling proud to be her role model. When I heard her sing, I recognized my influence, but I also heard the electricity and rage in her own voice. I loved her attitude." -- Etta James ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"I have a deep, spiritual connection to Janis. And I don't know how, why or when. But, I've always been extremely attracted to her energy, and her pain, and her voice, and her life. I just think she is one of the most amazing women that ever lived." -- P!nk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~"Janis Joplin sings the blues as hard as any black person." -- B.B. King~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ You should create your own MySpace Layouts like me by using nUCLEArcENTURy .COM's MySpace Profile Editor !