Fabulous Friday: Janis Joplin

Here's Howard:

The Grateful Dead’s Bobby Weir died last week and San Francisco took it in stride. No long vigils like when Jerry Garcia died, or Pig Pen, or Marty Balin, or Paul Kantner. Or Janis. We have been here before.

Janis moved here to North Beach with her friend (and Father of the Summer of Love) Chet Helms from Texas and quickly became an important seed in the counter-culture revolution that still is vibrating here in the city by The Bay. Outspoken and fearless, beyond labels yet openly bisexual in her life, her legacy goes beyond her well-documented issues with heroin. We will always picture her wild smile and cackle. I personally am not a big fan of screamo blues vocalists, but D.A. Pennebaker’s Monterey Pop Festival doc captured her genius use of dynamic and delicate touches. Those moments always made the song stand out amongst the dozens of psychedelic blues bands of the era. You can even see Mama Cass in the crowd mesmerized by her performances in both of these clips.

I always point out Janis’s old houses and favorite bar to tourists and friends. Her spirit still inspires many of us who came out here looking for something different.

Looking “To Feel More Feel More”.

Back to me:

I'd like to add a clip of my own. Joplin is best known for a her posthumous hit "Me and Bobby McGee," a priceless Kris Kristofferson song. The single version of that song is wonderful but a little overproduced for my taste. I greatly prefer this acoustic demo, just her and her guitar. Breaks my heart.