Janis Joplin-A forgotten legend?

Good analogy!

 

I certainly wouldn’t characterise her as forgotten, more woefully overlooked. I agree with the many previous posters who have mentioned her small central discography and relatively small number of reissues/ remastered etc. I think Janis Joplin was a simply incredible performer and a gifted vocalist who managed to bring a style and quality of rock singing to popular attention in a manner that had not really been seen/heard before. She wore her influences on her sleeve but still managed to create her own distinctive style that has stood unchallenged. Whether it is your cup of tea, is completely up to you, but I find her singing to be thrilling and still class her as one of my favourite singers of all time. She knew no boundaries when it came to singing and would lose herself in a song and seemingly give over control to each individual performance.

I was born in 1974 but was lucky to have a mother who adored Janis Joplin so I grew up listening to her records and she is one of the artists my parents loved who I never went through a stage of not listening to. As a kid I far preferred her two final albums but as I matured I began to appreciate the first two with Big Brother more and would count these as two of my favourites of all time now. It’s funny, as a kid in the late 70s and early- mid 80s my siblings and I used to laugh at many of her vocal mannerisms and try to imitate them, but as I grew older I realised how much pain, torment, wit, sadness and discomfort were present in her performances and these no longer seemed so funny.

I don’t have kids but my 21 year old niece adores Joplin and has all four of her albums and has shared her with her friends. A small and unrepresentative sample, I know, but there are still young people discovering and sharing her music.

I also think she is highly regarded by most female rock singers and often cited as an inspiration and a trail blazer for women in rock- as both what to do and perhaps what to avoid- but an inspiration nonetheless. And I would venture that many male rock singers have also unwittingly borrowed many of her vocal affectations by way of trying to imitate Robert Plant and others.

 

Cheap Thrills still has a cherished place on many "Greatest Albums" lists, and deservedly so. Pearl isn't too far behind. I would urge anyone who likes those albums to dig deeper into her catalog, especially the Kozmik Blues album and the double Janis soundtrack album with one whole record of vintage Janis singing folk and blues in a rowdy bar.

 

I love the JJ so much soul and purity, too much for many.

I also find her very sexy.

I have an original gatefold US pressing of cheap thrills.

 

Especially not in the same group as Hendrix. Hendrix was an innovator of an instrument, and wrote his own music, but Joplin has her place among the the great ''entertainer'' class of artists - especially of that particular era.

 

And the great, overlooked double LP “Joplin In Concert.”

 

My parents were pre-teens when this song was performed in 1969. I didn't know who she was until I was an adult.
Her voice is not everyone's cup of tea. But she certainly sings with passion, and a lot of singers could use a lesson in that. I thought this was rather enjoyable.

 

Can't really add to much to your post. There's a lot of validity in the points you made. I have wondered, when listening to her sing, how long her voice could've held up. I would not be surprised, that if she had lived, her voice would've been shot relatively quickly. But there's a chance she might have rained it in as she moved into the 70's and styles changed. Even Robert Plant cut out some of the excessive vocal styling he showed on Zeppelin 1 eventually and has made recentish comments about how he wished he hadn't taken that approach.

Your comment that Big Brother were beneath her is an interesting one. You're probably right there but the pairing just worked better than her later bands. I just don't think she found the group of musicians she should've wound up with and I think some of that had to do with record company A&R habits. Some good tracks in her post-Big Brother output though.

 

I think record company A&R had a lot to do with that. I don't think she was that comfortable with it either IIRC. It would've been interesting to see how she transferred into the 70's.

 

The same can be said for a lot of bands/artists. If I had to pick one of her contemporaries as an example, I'd say Morrison and The Doors gained a lot from Morrisons tragic death and myth surrounding it. I remember Manzerk not being to shy about playing into the myth either. That's not to say The Doors or Morrison weren't talented or didn't deserve acclaim, I was a huge fan of the band when I was younger and still am, but there's no denying the effect his death had on their future popularity.

 

Yes indeed, and another of my favourites. I forgot to mention that one. I challenge anyone to make it through ‘Ego Rock’ without a smile on their face. I also love the version of ‘Get It While You Can’ on this LP.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like and respect Joplin, but she had a way of slobbering all over songs that I find offputting in many cases. Don't think the majority of her recordings hold up decades later. I happened to play one of her box sets a few weeks ago, and while a handful of numbers brought smiles, mostly it was a slog. When the song and performance were right, she was terrific. She was headed in a good direction at the end, I think.

I saw her at the first Atlanta Pop festival. It was late and she kept everyone waiting a long time and then showed up whisky bottle in hand. It was OK, nothing all that special. She was followed by the then-unknown Joe Cocker, who tore it up until dawn to the audience's delight. Put simply, he kicked her butt.

 

Sometimes this forum depresses me.

All I know is that when my singer sings Janis tunes in my band, she nails it and the audience loves it. Not just old people! Young kids know those songs.
I don't buy the Andrews Sisters analogy made earlier.

 

She wasn't an acquired taste in the late '60's. Most people were blown away the first time they heard her. The astonishment of the crowd in the Monterey footage is the way most people reacted to hearing her for the first time. Calling her an acquired taste, I think, shows you that we've lost the ability to connect to that outpouring of raw emotion.

 

She's hardly forgotten. If you don't own any of her records then buy "Cheap Thrills" and prepare to get your socks knocked off.

 

I've been listening to Janis for years so it's surprising to me that anyone thinks she's forgotten! Someone mentioned Joe Cocker and that's the strongest parallel I can think of. If Janis had lived she'd probably have collapsed drunk on stage a few times before having a pop hit that cemented her place in the public conscience and worked the rest of her life while dealing with the demons, like Joe did. Sad that didn't happen but at least we are left with a few decent albums and some live recordings to enjoy in perpetuity.

 

"Janis Joplin sings the blues as hard as any black person." B.B. King.

"Janis was like an angel who came and paved a road white chicks hadn't walked before." "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 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.

"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

 

I remember her every time there is a "who is you fav singer" or " who is you fav female artist" thread.
I don't remember her first hand (I was born in the 60s) so I came to her after the fact (though not long after relatively).

I think, to this day, any singer who has even a ball park similar voice, is called the next Janis.
One thing that would have kept her in the lime light more would have been the long talked about bio-pic.

IMO a good rock singer is not the same as a good singer. Janis is among the best if not the best.
If anything can be taken away from her legacy (or artist ranking I guess) it is that she is not known for song writing.

 

You're right. Well, in my home the Andrews and the Boswell Sisters are pretty relevant.

 

I have the utmost respect for what she has done.I loved "Summertime" and "Down on Me" but don't really care to hear anything else.I think she was just a product of her time and didn't carry well after as time has shown.

 

I don't think she has been forgotten. True she is not played on the radio that much anymore, however the documentary Little Girl Blue was released in the last couple of years and the show A night with Janis Joplin has been touring for the last 4 years. I just saw it in Boston January 20th 2018. I saw the show 3 times in the last 2 years itis excellent and urge you to go see it.

I love Janis, her voice her look she had pizzaz. I listen to her all the time, she was an excellent singer. I will sum it up with..... what ever IT is Janis had IT in spades.

 

Little Girl Blue is an excellent documentary. She's a legend alright. IMO. The parallel with Hendrix is apt. As no- one could do what he did with guitar, so none could do what Janis did with the voice.

 

The effect of Jim Morrisons death on the Doors was the band was over. The Doors were already hugely popular before Jims death after not so much. I'm not understanding your analysis?

 

Yes! I was thinking about this same point yesterday, after I'd already said my piece. So the question is, were '60s audiences more accepting of that vocal style? Of the blues in general?

It's hard not to be cynical and look at what the masses appreciate today (thank you, technology): carefully curated, airbrushed images; autotuned vocals; choreography and fireworks on stage; and music that's very far removed from the blues. Janis doesn't fit into any of those categories.

 

The Doors were huge when I was in high school (late '70s-early '80s). Rolling Stone even put Jim back on the cover.