Janis Lyn Joplin was born January 19, 1943 and died October 4, 1970. Born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas she had her artistic interests cultivated by parents Seth and Dorothy Joplin. In her high school years she listened to folk and jazz and she was especially taken with the blues. Discovering an inborn talent to belt the blues, Janis began copying the styles of Bessie Smith, Odetta and Leadbelly. She played the coffee houses and hootenannies of the day in the small towns of Texas. When old Austin friend, Chet Helms called to offer her a singing audition with an local up-and-coming San Francisco group called “Big Brother and the Holding Company.” She got the gig and moved to San Fransisco, CA. Their “Cheap Thrills” album was released in August, 1968 and soon went gold, presenting the hits “Piece of My heart” and “Summertime.” The band was playing to large audiences, for big fees, and the billing now read “Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company.” The pressure mounted, income rose and hippie rockers indulged themselves with their new ability to use high-priced drugs. Drugs began affecting their performing and work relationships and in Christmas of 1968, the group played its last gig together.

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