On October 4, 1970, Janis Joplin was found dead from a heroin overdose and is only 27 years old.
(Photo: David Gahr)
Here are 30 facts about one of Rock's greatest female singers:
1. She was born on January 19, 1943, in Texas USA.
2. Joplin was brilliant and outstanding at school.
3. At the same time Joplin was socially rejected, partly because she was different and very fond of blues music, which in her childhood was associated mainly with "African-American".
4. During her time at Texas University, she was named the Ugliest person on Campus. It hit her very hard and left her with scars that caused her to leave school and Texas for San Francisco.
5. She was bisexual and had relationships with women and men alike.
6. One of the relationships with men was with singer Leonard Cohen. Cohen also wrote the song "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" about her.
7. Although she had many relationships and was always surrounded by people, Joplin was very lonely and could not maintain a serious relationship over time.
8. The album "Cheap Thrills" which she released with "Big Brother and the Holding Company" was originally supposed to be called "Sex, Dope And Cheap Thrills", but due to the opposition of the record company the name was shortened.
9. Her most recent recording was a birthday greeting to John Lennon.
10. Despite her low self-confidence, she liked to get rid of most of her clothes on stage.
11. In 1969 she was arrested in her locker room after cursing cops who tried to calm the rioting crowd at a show she held in Tampa Florida. The judge she was brought before released her stating that she had exercised her right to "freedom of expression".
12. She was very fond of the drink "Southern Comfort". In response, the beverage company gave her a fur coat as a token of appreciation for her contribution to raising sales of the intoxicating beverage.
(Photo: Phactual.com)
13. She also broke a "Southern Comfort" bottle on Jim Morrison's head when he tried to kiss her.
14. Joplin had a black belt in karate.
15. She built a tombstone on the grave of one of her childhood heroes, blues singer Bessie Smith, after discovering that she was buried in an unmarked grave without a tombstone.
16. Joplin was also influenced by another African-American blues singer - Billie Holiday.
17. She adored Tina Turner and also got to perform with her on one stage in 1969.
(Photo: Amalie R. Rothschild)
18. In 2015 the Porsche 365 car she purchased in 1968, with the psychedelic paintings, was sold for a fantastic price of $ 1.76 million.
(Photo: FanBuzz)
19. She received great publicity at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival in 1967, where she gave an unforgettable performance. She performed the song "Ball and Chain" twice to the enthusiastic demand of the audience.
20. On the other hand, she asked not to be included in the post-festival documentary on Woodstock. She thought her performance there was not good enough.
21. Joplin was among the first artists to enter the dubious "Club 27". She was preceded by Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix, followed by artists such as Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, and more.
22. Her ashes were scattered from a plane over the Pacific Ocean.
23. She changed her last will only 3 days before her death. In the amended will, she ordered, among other things, to leave an amount between $ 1,500-2,500 (there is a dispute as to the amount) for a party to be held after her death.
24. Such a party was indeed held about three weeks after her death on October 26, 1970. "The Grateful Dead" performed at the party and rumor has it that marijuana cookies were distributed there.
25. The last love letter sent to her arrived one day too late. David Niehaus whom she fell in love with while trying to quit drugs, sent her a telegram, to the hotel where she was staying. The letter arrived the day after her death and read "Love you Mama, more than you know."
26. Despite her meteoric success she only had one single that became a "hit" - "Me and Bobby Mcgee". This too was not her original song, but a cover.
27. Joplin did not know that her latest album "Pearl" would become her best-selling album. The name "Pearl" was also the nickname given to her by her close friends.
28. Although she did not finish recording the album "Pearl" before her death, the album was later released. Creepily, Joplin was supposed to record the song "Buried Alive in the Blues" on the day of her death, but she did not reach the studio and it remained instrumental...
29. Her sister Laura was the one who wrote her biography after her death.
30. She was inducted into the "Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame" only in 1995, twenty-five years after her death.
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