Janis Joplin : iSOUND.COM™

Biography

White people really can have soul, if Janis Joplin is considered in evidence. Rather than recap her whole career, beginning with the familiar story of manager Chet Helms' 1966 phone call from San Francisco to Joplin in Austin, TX (after which she hitchhiked all the way out to the audition with Big Brother and the Holding Company), I propose that we look at her unique vocal character simply via the example of the posthumous hit, Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee".

"McGee" is a perfect example of how Joplin and her several collaboration bands brought together two components of late 60's hard rock more effectively than ever: the soulful singing and the keyboard inclusions. Joplin's gravel-throated power was well-suited for subjects of raw emotion, and a matter of instrumentation heightened the serious connotations at work: not only was the Hammond organ augmented by a rotating speaker unit known as a 'Leslie', thus thickening the sound, but the use of the organ in the first place flew in under the audience's radar screen. Organs weren't typically heard in popular music - but they were indeed typically heard at least once a week for most American listeners; that would have been in church. With the screams, moans and right-on-key sustains of Joplin in front and the dead-serious backing of the Hammond right behind, the result suggests what might have happened if Mahalia Jackson had gotten hold of some rock 'n roll lead sheets and said to her band, "We ought to be able to handle this". Kristofferson's words were united with a naturally relaxed yet powerful vocal delivery plus a gospel-infused bed, all to lasting effect.

It's often said that Frank Sinatra could sing so naturally that he could make every guy in the world think he could sing at least a little bit like Frank. Now, consider every version you've ever heard of "Bobby McGee" and consider if the memory of Janis's performance is making that suggestion to us all even today. So many people think that they can do "McGee"... it's the lazy siren effect of Janis with Big Brother, Full Tilt Boogie Band and others that makes them think so. Listening to them, it seems so easy.

But the Janis "McGee" is the only version for me.

Bio written by: Pete_Jamison

Artist Forum


Discussion Topic	Creator
Janis Janis Janis This is so pathetic no one has posted on this board.If it weren't for miss.Janis Joplin in rock n roll,your fucking brody dalle wouldn't be here today.She was one of the first women to hit the scene so huge. Anyways,I am hoping to pick up her box set soon,I've read so many good reviews.	RockabillyHell56

Replys	Listener
she has great songs!!	RHCP
thats true that sucks that no one wrote anything on here. thats awesome that she was one of the first females to make it! her music is like the best. i just love hearing her voice. its not like everyone else. she has an orginal sound and a great voice.	DoNtPuSh87
I agree with the above. Janis Joplin kicked ass & still does. lol =) I love ya Janis! Rest In Peace Baby	lladylydia
Woo Hoo! I can't wait for Festival Express to hit the stores on Nov. 2!	lladylydia
Last night i listened to her song,it was ,bye bye baby,and it made me feel so lost..and i like the feeling of being lost.And cry,like she say 'cry ai ai baby"	bernaz
Welcome back Janis!!!! A long time ago there was a super emotional, growling voiced, totally fantastic female blues singer who could bring you to your knees when she belted out a song. Her name was Janis Joplin. Unfortunately Janis Joplin died at a very young age a long time ago, leaving a void in music all these many years. But that void is now being filled by a new talent just hitting the music world with her star force. This new "Joplin" is Joss Stone. She is so amazingly like Joplin in so many ways it is almost like she is channeling Joplin or is her reincarnated!!! Joss Stone not only sings like Joplin with her thick, growling voice, her emotional wrenching of lyrics, her pacing of the song's wording, and her totally blues emotional style, but she actually moves, dresses, and looks like Janis Joplin did as well!! But Joss Stone brings a new freshness to the female blues singing style that even surpases Joplin's contribution to the music. Joss Stone sings with a kind of "crispness" that renders a new light on the way a femaie can pound out a bluesy type song in the way a maie singer can not. Joss Stone is the female blues discovery of the decade and will set a new standard for years to come as she rises higher and higher in her music output.	GrayBeard
Please don't get me wrong about my Janis & Joss comparison. I totally totally love Janis and alway will. There is not a lot of good things about being an old dude like me, but one nice thing is that I actually got to be there when Janis Joplin was on the scene. She was so magnificant words could never fully tell the story. Her death really hit me hard. Just as she was starting to soar higher and higher and reach more and more ppl with her talent, she was gone. ANd all these many years I have missed her. Joss Stone reminds me SO SO much of Janis that I can't believe it!! If you love Janis like I do you will see Janis live again when you listen to Joss Stone's singing. Will Joss fill Janis's shoes? Hell no, no one ever will, but Joss is a close as anyone will ever be while still maintaining her own style and identity.	GrayBeard
I'm the only kid in my skewl that actually knows who she is. I always wanted to look just like her.	offguard