50 Fun Facts About Janis Joplin

In which Texas city was Janis Joplin born on January 19, 1943?

Her father Seth was an engineer at Texaco and her mother Dorothy a registrar at a business college; she had two younger siblings, Laura and Michael.

Which future Pro Football Hall of Fame coach was Janis Joplin's high-school classmate?

She later said her Thomas Jefferson High schoolmates 'laughed me out of class, out of town and out of the state'.

Which blues singer did Janis Joplin most often cite as an influence and later help buy a headstone for?

Smith's grave had been unmarked; Joplin mailed a cheque after a phone call, and the AP said she 'shared the cost' with nurse Juanita Green.

What was the headline of the July 1962 Daily Texan profile of Janis Joplin at the University of Texas?

The article noted she went barefoot, wore Levi's to class and carried her Autoharp everywhere in case she felt like singing.

With which friend did Janis Joplin hitchhike from Texas to San Francisco in January 1963?

Three years later Helms, by then managing Big Brother and the Holding Company, sent Travis Rivers to Austin to bring her back to join the band.

Which future Jefferson Airplane guitarist recorded blues with Janis Joplin in 1964 over a clacking typewriter?

His wife Margareta was typing; the session surfaced years later as the bootleg The Typewriter Tape.

What was Janis Joplin's favourite alcoholic drink?

She was a heavy drinker throughout her career and had a reputation in mid-1960s San Francisco as a 'speed freak'.

How much did Janis Joplin weigh when she returned to Texas in spring 1965?

She swore off drugs, adopted a beehive hairdo and enrolled at Lamar University in Beaumont.

On what date did Janis Joplin join Big Brother and the Holding Company?

Her first show with them was at the Avalon Ballroom; her parents only learned she was in San Francisco, not Austin, when a letter arrived.

Which Grateful Dead founding member had a short relationship and long friendship with Janis Joplin?

She also lived for a few months in 1967 with Country Joe McDonald, who wrote the song 'Janis' at her request.

Which small label signed Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1966?

Their debut album on the label came out in August 1967, and Columbia later reissued it with 'featuring Janis Joplin' on the cover.

At which June 1967 event did Janis Joplin and Big Brother make their breakthrough appearance?

D. A. Pennebaker's Monterey Pop film premiered at Lincoln Center in December 1968 and helped make her a star.

Which was the only track on Cheap Thrills actually recorded in front of a paying audience?

The album kept a raw feel anyway, including the sound of a glass breaking and being swept up during 'Turtle Blues'.

How many weeks did Cheap Thrills spend at number one on the Billboard 200?

It reached the top eight weeks after release and produced the hits 'Piece of My Heart' and 'Summertime'.

What was the name of the first backing group Janis Joplin put together after leaving Big Brother?

It was modelled on Stax-Volt soul revues and included saxophonist Snooky Flowers and ex-Big Brother guitarist Sam Andrew.

At roughly what time did Janis Joplin finally take the stage at Woodstock on Sunday, August 17, 1969?

She had waited ten hours backstage, drinking and shooting heroin with Peggy Caserta; Pete Townshend later wrote that 'even Janis on an off-night was incredible'.

With which pregnant folk singer did Janis Joplin fly by helicopter into the Woodstock site?

Baez recalled Joplin going giddy at the sight of the crowd; the two later watched Hendrix's closing set from Joe Cocker's van.

Why was Janis Joplin's performance left out of the 1970 Woodstock film and soundtrack?

The 25th-anniversary director's cut finally included her 'Work Me, Lord'.

In which Florida city was Janis Joplin arrested for 'vulgar and indecent language' in November 1969?

She was found guilty and fined $200 plus court costs after shouting 'Don't fuck with those people!' at officers doing crowd control.

With which singer did a drunk Janis Joplin duet at the Rolling Stones' Thanksgiving 1969 show?

Ike and Tina Turner were the opening act; her publicist Myra Friedman said she was 'so drunk, so stoned, so out of control'.

To which country did Janis Joplin travel in February 1970, where she was photographed at Carnival?

She was romanced there by fellow tourist David Niehaus, who left after seeing her shoot up back home in Larkspur, California.

What was the Full Tilt Boogie Band briefly called before it was renamed in 1970?

It was made up mostly of young Canadians who had played with Ronnie Hawkins, and Joplin declared, 'Finally it's my band!'

How much did the Hells Angels pay Janis Joplin to perform at their San Rafael party in May 1970?

The Angels had known her since 1966; Big Brother, now fronted by Nick Gravenites, opened the show for 2,300 people.

What was the 1970 tour on which a train carried Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and The Band across Canada?

They played Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary; footage of her 'Tell Mama' in Calgary became an early MTV video.

On which TV host's show did Janis Joplin announce in 1970 that she would attend her high school reunion?

She went on August 14 with Bob Neuwirth, her road manager and her sister Laura, and reportedly had a miserable time.

Where did Janis Joplin give her last public performance, on August 12, 1970?

The band played on makeshift amplifiers after their gear was stolen, and the Harvard Crimson still gave it a front-page rave.

Which producer, best known for his work with the Doors, oversaw the Pearl sessions in Los Angeles?

Joplin approved and arranged all nine tracks she sang on, and the album had a far more polished sound than her earlier records.

What was the last song Janis Joplin recorded, completed in a single take on October 1, 1970?

She had written it with Bob Neuwirth in a bar between two shows at the Capitol Theatre, partly inspired by a Michael McClure poem.

Which track on Pearl is an instrumental because Janis Joplin died before recording the vocal?

Writer Nick Gravenites was offered the chance to sing it as a tribute but declined, later cutting it with Big Brother instead.

Where in Hollywood was Janis Joplin found dead on October 4, 1970?

She had checked in on August 24 to be near Sunset Sound Recorders; road manager John Byrne Cooke found her.

How many days before Janis Joplin's death had Jimi Hendrix died, also aged 27?

Canned Heat's Alan Wilson had died a month earlier at the same age, helping create the idea of the '27 Club'.

What happened to Janis Joplin's ashes?

She was cremated at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles; the death was ruled an accidental heroin overdose.

Who wrote 'Me and Bobby McGee', which became a posthumous number one for Janis Joplin in March 1971?

Joplin, who had dated Kristofferson, played acoustic guitar on the track herself.

How many Janis Joplin singles reached the Billboard Hot 100?

'Kozmic Blues' peaked at 41 and a live 'Raise Your Hand' was a top-ten hit in Germany, but only 'Me and Bobby McGee' went all the way.

In what year was Janis Joplin inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award followed in 2005, and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2013.

Which 1979 film, starring Bette Midler, is loosely based on Janis Joplin's life?

It was going to be called Pearl until her family refused the rights; Midler won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.

Which Leonard Cohen song is about Janis Joplin?

The Mamas & the Papas' 'Pearl' and Jerry Garcia's 'Birdsong' are also tributes to her.

Who wrote the 1992 biography Love, Janis, the first major life of the singer in two decades?

Friedman's Buried Alive and Caserta's Going Down with Janis had both appeared in 1973; Caserta later disowned hers.

Which Tony-nominated show has Mary Bridget Davies perform a concert as the singer, telling stories of her inspirations?

It began at Washington's Arena Stage in 2013 and opened in London's Peacock Theatre in August 2024.

Who narrated the 2015 documentary Little Girl Blue, directed by Amy J. Berg?

It was a New York Times Critics' Pick; the year before, the USPS unveiled a Joplin stamp at the Outside Lands festival.

By early 2026, how many US album sales had the RIAA certified for Janis Joplin?

Rolling Stone ranked her 28th among the greatest singers in 2008 and 78th in its 2023 list.

What was Janis Joplin's nickname, which also became the title of her final album?

Pearl was released in January 1971, three months after her death, and reached number one on the Billboard 200.

What was the name of the folk trio Janis Joplin sang with at the University of Texas?

Its other members were Powell St. John and Lanny Wiggins; she also hung around the campus humour magazine The Texas Ranger.

Which Washington Post reporter, later of Watergate fame, glowingly reviewed Janis Joplin's new backing group in 1969?

San Francisco Chronicle critic Ralph J. Gleason, by contrast, called the band a 'drag' and told her to go back to Big Brother.

A teenage friend's albums by which three blues artists set Joplin on the path to singing?

She began singing blues and folk with friends at Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur.

In which Texas city is Lamar University, where Joplin enrolled after cleaning up in 1965?

She adopted a beehive hairdo and, according to her sister Laura, majored in social work that year.

Which Cheap Thrills cover artist designed an LSD blotter sheet acquired by the Rock Hall?

The museum's Joplin exhibit has also displayed her psychedelically painted 1965 Porsche 356 Cabriolet.

In which year did Joplin receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame made her the honoree of its American Music Masters series in 2009.

Where does Joplin's star, unveiled in 2013, sit on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

It was the 2,510th star, at 6752 Hollywood Boulevard.

Where did the US Postal Service unveil its 2014 Janis Joplin stamp?

It was part of the Music Icons series, launched at Golden Gate Park.