It was 40 years ago that Janis Joplin passed away. Like a lot of people living the 60’s Janis was my favorite female singer. She is truly one of the greatest American singers of all time. Born in Port Arthur, Texas in 1943, if she were alive today she would be just a couple years younger than myself — hard to imagine, since our image remains the rebellious San Fransisco hippie girl from southeast Texas.
My favorite album is “Cheap Thrills” with Big Brother and the Holding Company, which featured a cover design by counterculture cartoonist Robert Crumb that experienced a little of my impression last December when I did a posting on James Gurley, “The Father of the Psychedelic Guitar.” Gurley provided the great guitar sound in the Holding Company.
The album (Cheap Thrills) contained my favorite Joplin song, “Piece of My Heart.”
If many of the great artists who passed away young in my lifetime were still with us today, imagine the quality of music that would still be a part of our world, 40 year out.
kenne
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