Janis Lyn Joplin was born at St. Mary's Hospital in the oil-refining town of Port Arthur, Texas, near the border with Louisiana. Her father was a cannery worker and her mother was registrar for a business college. As an overweight teenager she was a folk-music devotee (especially Odetta, Leadbelly and Bessie Smith). After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School she attended Lamar State College and the University of Texas, where she played autoharp in Austin bars. A fraternity voted her the Ugliest Man on Campus in 1963, and she spent two years traveling, performing and becoming drug-addicted. Back home in 1966, her friend Chet Helms suggested she become lead singer for Big Brother and the Holding Company, an established Haight-Ashbury band consisting of guitarists James Gurley and Sam Andrew, bassist Peter Albin and drummer Dave Getz). She got wide recognition through the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and the band's landmark second album, "Cheap Thrills". She formed her Kosmic Blues Band the following year and achieved still further recognition as a solo performer at Woodstock in 1969. In the spring of 1970 she sang with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, and on October 4 of that year she was found dead in Hollywood's Landmark Motor Hotel from a heroin-alcohol overdose the previous day. Her ashes were scattered off the coast of California. Her biggest selling album was the posthumously released "Pearl", which contained her quintessential song: "Me & Bobby McGee."
Was a member of the Glee Club and the Future Teachers of America while in high school. Was accused of vulgar and indecent language and was arrested in Tampa, Florida, on November 15, 1969. Was released on a fifty-dollar bond. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2001, Topps trading cards, in their American Pie Baseball brand produced a 'Piece Of American Pie' memorabilia insert set that included a Joplin-worn dress that is seen on her 'Pearl' album. Ranked #3 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll She was voted the 47th Greatest Artist in Rock 'n' Roll by Rolling Stone. Was friends with Jimi Hendrix. Was good friends with Grace Slick. Was good friends with Kris Kristofferson. He wrote her song, "Me and Bobby McGee". Loved to drink Southern Comfort. Was cremated and her ashes were scattered on the Pacific Ocean. Was the oldest of three children. Had a younger sister, Laurel Lee, and a younger brother, Michael Ross. October 4, 1970: Died of heroin overdose in room 105 of the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles. Her chauffeur was the one who discovered her dead on the floor in her room. Wrote her will shortly before her death. In her will, she set aside $2500 for her friends to throw a party in the event of her death. After she died of a heroin overdose on October 4th, 1970, her friends followed her wishes and threw a party in her honor at a club in San Francisco. The party invitations read: "Drinks Are On Pearl". The character Frankie in American Pop was based partially on her and partially on Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick. Was high school classmates with former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, who gave her her nickname of "Beat Weeds." Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen penned "Chelsea Hotel #2" about her. Is portrayed by Zooey Deschanel in The Gospel According to Janis (2007)