"The Wasp", Janis Joplin
You simply can not talk about women in music without mentioning Janis Joplin, Rock & Roll's first female super star. On January 19th, 1943 the world was given an icon in Janis Lyn Joplin when she was born to Seth and Dorothy in Port Arthur, Texas. No one could have imagined the life that was about to be led by this raw ironed soul.
Playing at college campuses and local bars, she discovered that what she wanted to do was entertain. She left Texas and headed out to L.A. with a few friends in the 60's and once she was there, she changed the face of Rock. Her style could only be described as a psychedelic rock & roll acid trip. She loved the bottle and hated men, although she truly wished for love and her lyrics told her story more than she imagined. Janis struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, but it would be difficult to know if she would have made such a mark without them.
Joplin's life was full of rejection and pain; she could never seem to get out from under the throws of deep depression. She was rejected by her peers when she was young due to her acne scarred face and the personality that emerged because of her self image. This continued on as the 'norm' for her life experiences and later her career. This is how she became known as a blues momma, and true to blues momma form, she was hard lining, hard loving, and a hard substance user.
After leaving us with such industry changing songs like "Me and Bobby McGee", the a cappella "Mercedes Benz" and the unforgettable "Piece of My Heart", Janis succumbed to her addiction. She died of a drug overdose on October 4th, 1970 at the age of 27.
Playing at college campuses and local bars, she discovered that what she wanted to do was entertain. She left Texas and headed out to L.A. with a few friends in the 60's and once she was there, she changed the face of Rock. Her style could only be described as a psychedelic rock & roll acid trip. She loved the bottle and hated men, although she truly wished for love and her lyrics told her story more than she imagined. Janis struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, but it would be difficult to know if she would have made such a mark without them.
Joplin's life was full of rejection and pain; she could never seem to get out from under the throws of deep depression. She was rejected by her peers when she was young due to her acne scarred face and the personality that emerged because of her self image. This continued on as the 'norm' for her life experiences and later her career. This is how she became known as a blues momma, and true to blues momma form, she was hard lining, hard loving, and a hard substance user.
After leaving us with such industry changing songs like "Me and Bobby McGee", the a cappella "Mercedes Benz" and the unforgettable "Piece of My Heart", Janis succumbed to her addiction. She died of a drug overdose on October 4th, 1970 at the age of 27.
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