With a voice 'like a 78 r.p.m. record,' American Music Masters honoree Janis Joplin belted out the blues and blazed trails

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With a voice 'like a 78 r.p.m. record,' American Music Masters honoree Janis Joplin belted out the blues and blazed trails
November 13, 2009
by John Soeder
Chicago.com

When Janis Joplin was growing up in Port Arthur, Texas, music was an integral part of her family's Saturday housecleaning ritual.

"Our mother would put on Broadway show tunes and crank up the stereo full-volume while everyone was doing chores and singing along," recalled Laura Joplin, Janis' younger sister.

"Mother was always giving us tips, like 'Support your note there with your diaphragm.' One of the records we used to listen to was 'Porgy and Bess.' Interestingly enough, later on, Janis recorded 'Summertime.' "

Did she ever, putting her own inimitable spin on George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" standard. It wasn't an obvious choice for a rock 'n' roll singer. Then again, Janis Joplin never seemed at a loss for a surprise.
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REMEMBERING JOPLIN

Here's the remaiing schedule for "Kozmic Blues: The Life and Music of Janis Joplin," a salute to the iconic rocker presented by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Case Western Reserve University. Events will be held at several venues, including the newly refurbished Foster Theater at the Rock Hall, 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., Cleveland. Unless otherwise noted, sessions are free with a reservation, which can be made by e-mailing education@rockhall.org or calling 216-515-8426.

Friday, Nov. 13
# Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel: Western swingers from Joplin's home state of Texas perform at 8 p.m. at Wilbert's, 812 Huron Road, Cleveland. Tickets are $15 at the club. (Rock Hall members can purchase two-for-one tickets by showing membership card.)

Saturday, Nov. 14
# "Rock and Roll Retrospective": Joplin's siblings Laura and Michael, musician Country Joe McDonald, songwriter Jerry Ragovoy ("Piece of My Heart") and others examine Joplin's career and legacy during a conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at CWRU's Wolstein Auditorium, 2103 Cornell Road, in the Wolstein Research Building. Tickets are $30 at the Rock Hall and Ticketmaster outlets, or charge by phone, 1-800-745-3000.
# Tribute Concert: Lucinda Williams, Guy Clark, Nona Hendryx and others perform at 8 p.m. at PlayhouseSquare's State Theatre in Cleveland. Also on the bill are Ray Benson, Roky Erickson, Bettye LaVette, Country Joe McDonald, Bob Neuwirth, Gregg Rolie, Susan Tedeschi and Carolyn Wonderland. Tickets are $30-$50 at the box office, or charge by phone, 1-866-546-1353 or 216-241-6000.

Nearly four decades after her death in 1970, this countercultural trailblazer is the toast of this year's American Music Masters series, presented by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Case Western Reserve University. "Kozmic Blues: The Life and Music of Janis Joplin" commenced Monday, Nov. 9, with a range of programming, from panel discussions to performances.

The festivities culminate with a tribute concert Saturday evening at PlayhouseSquare's State Theatre, featuring Lucinda Williams, Country Joe McDonald, Nona Hendryx and others.

Mention Joplin and most people think of a blues-belting hot mama who lived fast and died young.

Behind the oversimplified myth, however, was a far more complex soul, said McDonald, the folk singer best known for his "Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag."

Joplin and McDonald were a romantic item in the '60s.

"Her artistic side is very seldom acknowledged," McDonald said. "People like to see her as the screeching blues girl. But inside, she was a really smart person and a really creative person."

Before Joplin threw herself heart and soul into music, her first love was painting.

"She saw the world through the eyes of a visual artist," Laura Joplin said.

"Janis always had her sketchbook out. She learned a lot about painters, too. She was concerned with technique. She learned about the fine differences that end up making a big difference."

Janis was six years older than Laura.

"We were very close, in a big sister/little sister way," Laura Joplin said. "She read stories to me, rode bikes with me and took me all around the neighborhood."

In high school, Janis hung out with bohemian-types.

"They were into music, they were into art and they believed in racial integration, which at the time was pretty risky," Laura Joplin said.

"They used to drive around and listen to the radio. The story is that one night, Janis started singing along with Odetta, and everyone stopped to listen."

Joplin was soon honing her vocal skills in coffeehouses and clubs in Texas and California, singing everything from blues to folk to country music.

She joined Big Brother and the Holding Company, a San Francisco band, in 1966. The first time Jopin sang with the group, guitarist Sam Andrew was blown away.

"I almost dropped my guitar," he said.

"Her voice sounded like a 78 r.p.m. record. I could almost hear the scratches, you know? It was so authentic -- a big, wide, great voice."

A previously booked European tour will preclude Big Brother and the Holding Company from participating in the American Music Masters celebration. The group (which now includes Cleveland native Mary Bridget Davies on lead vocals) was here last month for an appearance at the Rock Hall and a gig at the Beachland Ballroom.

Another local connection: Ex-Clevelander R. Crumb drew the cover art for Big Brother and the Holding Company's seminal "Cheap Thrills" album.

One year after a scene-stealing performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Joplin and the band scored a Top 20 hit with "Piece of My Heart."

Joplin earned glowing reviews, too.

"The New York Times said Janis was really good with melisma," Andrew said, laughing at the memory.

The musical term refers to singing a group of notes in one syllable.

"She had to look up the word," Andrew said. "And then she said it every 5 minutes for the rest of the week.

"When she sang, she could do so much with just one syllable."

As her fame grew, Joplin struggled with alcohol and drugs.

"My parents decided that we needed to go see if she was OK," Laura Joplin said.

"So we drove the family Oldsmobile from Texas to San Francisco, to see how she was doing. While we were there, we got to see Big Brother and the Holding Company perform at the Avalon Ballroom.

"When we were leaving, I remember overhearing my parents saying they didn't think they were going to have much influence on Janis anymore.

"We didn't know she was using hard drugs. I didn't anyway. I think my parents were worried about it."

Joplin parted ways with Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1968, taking Andrew with her to form the Kozmic Blues Band. She later regrouped with the Full Tilt Boogie Band.

"She was home a few months before she died, for her high school reunion," Laura Joplin said. "I know there were some attempts at talking to her then. But talking is a two-way process. . . . Nothing seemed to be sinking in."

One of the last times that McDonald saw Joplin was at Woodstock in 1969.

She took him to her hotel room, then took out a syringe and proceeded to cook some heroin, McDonald said.

"I said, 'Um, no, I'm out of here,' " he said.

"She got really pissed off about that. And Angry Janis was really hard to take."

A little over a year later, Joplin was gone, dead from a heroin overdose. She was 27.

"Pearl," a posthumously released solo album, yielded the No. 1 single "Me and Bobby McGee." The oft-covered ballad (many consider Joplin's version to be the best) was written by Kris Kristofferson, who also had dated Joplin. Pearl was her nickname.

Despite her self-destructive behavior, Joplin's death came as a shock to McDonald.

"I didn't think it was fate," he said. "It was just bad luck. Really bad luck.

"On the one hand, I couldn't understand why she was left alone. But she could be such an [expletive] that you wanted to leave her alone. Some people get so obnoxious and if you've given them so many chances, you have to distance yourself, because they're going to break your heart if you're around them."

Joplin, a 1995 Rock Hall inductee, is only the second female honoree in the 14-year history of the American Music Masters series. The first was blues singer Bessie Smith, feted in 2001.

In marked contrast to the solo songbirds or girl groups of the '60s, Joplin's larger-than-life persona redefined the possibilities for anyone, female or male, who fronted a band.

"Janis influenced a lot of rock frontpersons, not just women," said Lauren Onkey, the Rock Hall's vice president of education and public programs.

"Think about Robert Plant or Steven Tyler or Axl Rose, as well as people like Heart or a younger artist like Pink."

Joplin's "impact on artists who are still on the scene today, her skill as a vocalist and her deep knowledge and use of roots music put her at the forefront," Onkey said.

Joplin's roots in the Texas music scene will be evoked during the tribute concert by several artists with ties to the Lone Star State, including Williams and Guy Clark. Other performers, including R&B singer Hendryx, will testify to the breadth of Joplin's influence.

"Janis is one of my favorite artists," Hendryx said.

"When I first heard her music, I didn't know if I liked it or not. I'd come from R&B and being part of a girl group, singing nice music with a lot of 'oohs' and 'aahs.'

"Janis' music was really aggressive. It hit me the same way Billie Holiday did."

Joplin "kicked open the doors for lots and lots of people," McDonald said.

He can't help but think that somewhere, Joplin will be smiling down on all the hoopla this week in her honor.

"The egomaniac part of her would be really stoked," McDonald said. "I'm sure Janis would be really happy about that. She's got bragging rights in musicians' heaven now."