Janis Lyn Joplin was born January 19, 1943 and died October 4, 1970. In between she led a triumphant and
tumultuous life blessed by extraordinary talent for bringing powerful emotion to heart-stomping
rock-and-roll singing. Born and raised in Port Arthur, she discovered an inborn talent to belt the blues,
playing coffee houses and hootenannies in the small towns of Texas. She later ventured to the beatnik
haunts of Venice, North Beach and the Village in New York. Jumping into the on-the-edge lifestyle cultivated
by the era, Janis thrilled at her creativity, but almost lost herself in experiments with drugs and alcohol.
Music still called her to her in spite of its dangerous association with drugs - and then - old Austin friend,
Chet Helms, who had moved to San Francisco, called to offer her a singing audition with a relatively obscure
group called "Big Brother and the Holding Company."
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