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Going Down With Janis
'IF IT FEELS GOOD, DO IT'
was Janis Joplin's philosophy
And from the four buck coffee-house gigs to fifty grand one-nighters and million dollar albums she did just that. She shot a lot of smack, grass and speed; made a lot of love - to men or women - and drank a lot of Southern Comfort and tequila. She had a real funky time ...and of course, she sang. She roared, whined and growled and ripped her way to the top.
GOING DOWN WITH JANIS
is a different kind of book about a different kind of person. It tells a story as raw and honest as her voice, as gut-shaking as her songs, and as vivid as her memory.
was Janis Joplin's philosophy
And from the four buck coffee-house gigs to fifty grand one-nighters and million dollar albums she did just that. She shot a lot of smack, grass and speed; made a lot of love - to men or women - and drank a lot of Southern Comfort and tequila. She had a real funky time ...and of course, she sang. She roared, whined and growled and ripped her way to the top.
GOING DOWN WITH JANIS
is a different kind of book about a different kind of person. It tells a story as raw and honest as her voice, as gut-shaking as her songs, and as vivid as her memory.
267 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
13 people are currently reading
750 people want to read
About the author
Peggy Caserta
3 books12 followersPeggy Louise Caserta was an American businesswoman and memoirist. She owned Mnasidika, a boutique in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district that became a hub for the counterculture of the 1960s, and published two memoirs, including one detailing her relationship with singer Janis Joplin.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 26, 2016
Now here was a fascinating book, one that I thought would give me some cheap thrills but that ended up being a real pearl. This is the gritty, down & dirty tale of Janis Joplin’s rise to fame, her relationships with lovers, her big-time addictions to alcohol and heroin, and her dealings with other rockers. A picture emerges of the now legendary 60s scene in San Francisco, and well, it wasn’t all free love and peace. There were overdoses, and fights, and huge egos, and enough bad behavior to fill up a book. Janis hobnobs and plays and battles with Sam Andrew, Jim Morrison, Kris Kristofferson, Mike Bloomfield, Country Joe MacDonald, writer Seth Morgan, and the Grateful Dead. Some of the peripheral characters are as fascinating as the stars of this self-destruction jamboree – there is the Acid King (probably the legendary Owsley), George the Black drug dealer who personally flies Janis her smack from L.A., Kimmie, the violent Lesbian, and many more.
But this book isn’t really even about Janis. It is more about the author, Peggy Caserta, who really lays it all out for us, enough to make this reader begin to view her as a selfish, lying slut. We get a look at the real Janis, no question, but we really get to know Peggy. We get a look at Peggy’s seventh grade classmate, Lee H. Oswald. We get a look at Peggy’s screwed up bisexual love life, starting with the squeaky clean Baptist boy in school and leading up to her labia licking needle parties with Janis. The book is surprisingly well-written, but that is probably because Caserta didn’t really write it. Dan Knapp, who was (I think) a highly regarded magazine writer, did.
When Peggy meets Janis, Janis is a ratty little hippie chick who does some singing. Peggy is not that impressed at first, but over time, especially when she sees how famous Janis is becoming, she gets involved with her. Soon Peggy is cheating on her partner Kimmie, and running off to “ball” Janis whenever she can. Janis, who comes across as intensely charming and fun, as well as being totally out of control and occasionally malicious, soon gets Peggy good and hooked on heroin. By the end of the book, Janis has mostly cleaned up her act, and Peggy is a dead end junkie. That is the irony of it: Janis had mostly kicked the habit except for a shot here and there. The week she died she was in L.A. – bored and lonely, without her former best friend/lover Peggy, and with new flame Seth Morgan not around. Janis, who hated being alone, turned to heroin, tequila, and valium for solace. It would be her last stoned evening – and her last evening on earth.
Despite the simultaneously charming and repulsive narrator, I could not put the book down. Just like Janis, I didn’t want the party to end – the parade of bizarre characters and events and the real life drama was just too interesting. Here are Peggy and another girl, balling guys in separate bedrooms and then meeting in the living room to giggle about them. Here is Janis, deliberately overdosing a prominent left-wing lawyer who has the hots for Peggy. There is the “Acid King” date-raping Peggy. There is Janis, trying to prostitute herself on the street, and getting laughed at by potential johns. There is Lee Harvey Oswald, locking his woodshop teacher in a closet for a whole weekend. But all parties have to end, and this did end, very sadly and painfully. The curtain comes down on the 1960s, a time that was full of turmoil and craziness as well as freedom and creativity. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in that era.
But this book isn’t really even about Janis. It is more about the author, Peggy Caserta, who really lays it all out for us, enough to make this reader begin to view her as a selfish, lying slut. We get a look at the real Janis, no question, but we really get to know Peggy. We get a look at Peggy’s seventh grade classmate, Lee H. Oswald. We get a look at Peggy’s screwed up bisexual love life, starting with the squeaky clean Baptist boy in school and leading up to her labia licking needle parties with Janis. The book is surprisingly well-written, but that is probably because Caserta didn’t really write it. Dan Knapp, who was (I think) a highly regarded magazine writer, did.
When Peggy meets Janis, Janis is a ratty little hippie chick who does some singing. Peggy is not that impressed at first, but over time, especially when she sees how famous Janis is becoming, she gets involved with her. Soon Peggy is cheating on her partner Kimmie, and running off to “ball” Janis whenever she can. Janis, who comes across as intensely charming and fun, as well as being totally out of control and occasionally malicious, soon gets Peggy good and hooked on heroin. By the end of the book, Janis has mostly cleaned up her act, and Peggy is a dead end junkie. That is the irony of it: Janis had mostly kicked the habit except for a shot here and there. The week she died she was in L.A. – bored and lonely, without her former best friend/lover Peggy, and with new flame Seth Morgan not around. Janis, who hated being alone, turned to heroin, tequila, and valium for solace. It would be her last stoned evening – and her last evening on earth.
Despite the simultaneously charming and repulsive narrator, I could not put the book down. Just like Janis, I didn’t want the party to end – the parade of bizarre characters and events and the real life drama was just too interesting. Here are Peggy and another girl, balling guys in separate bedrooms and then meeting in the living room to giggle about them. Here is Janis, deliberately overdosing a prominent left-wing lawyer who has the hots for Peggy. There is the “Acid King” date-raping Peggy. There is Janis, trying to prostitute herself on the street, and getting laughed at by potential johns. There is Lee Harvey Oswald, locking his woodshop teacher in a closet for a whole weekend. But all parties have to end, and this did end, very sadly and painfully. The curtain comes down on the 1960s, a time that was full of turmoil and craziness as well as freedom and creativity. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in that era.
August 5, 2012
Like this book even though its pretty obvious most of the Peggy's "memories" of Joplin are heroin fuelled fictions, created to get, well more H.
It is still an interesting insight into Joplin by someone 'who was actually there, man' because in between the active drug fuelled imagination lies some truth. You do walk away from this book feeling sorry for Joplin and Peggy as it highlights that the "Flower Child" "peace love and harmony" rhetoric that baby boomers have been bragging about since the 60's are total fabrications.....the 1960's was mainly about a spoilt post-war generation that ripped up the stable fibres of society in order to take copious amounts of heroin and have lots of promiscuous sex.
Joplin was an outsider that remained an outsider even when she became the flavour of the month and therefore fuelled her own demise, very depressing considering we were led to believe the 1960's was about loving the fact your were strange and different.....I guess as long as you were different in an all the same kind of way. Not many different people seemed to survive the 1960's which leads me to believe that if you survived the 60's then a) you totally weren't there or b) deep down you were a venture capitalist that pretended to get high and was really just biding your time until the 1980's so that you could buy buy low sell high.
By the end of the book I felt embarrassed for Peggy and I really hoped she at least made enough money to buy a few balls of H.
It is still an interesting insight into Joplin by someone 'who was actually there, man' because in between the active drug fuelled imagination lies some truth. You do walk away from this book feeling sorry for Joplin and Peggy as it highlights that the "Flower Child" "peace love and harmony" rhetoric that baby boomers have been bragging about since the 60's are total fabrications.....the 1960's was mainly about a spoilt post-war generation that ripped up the stable fibres of society in order to take copious amounts of heroin and have lots of promiscuous sex.
Joplin was an outsider that remained an outsider even when she became the flavour of the month and therefore fuelled her own demise, very depressing considering we were led to believe the 1960's was about loving the fact your were strange and different.....I guess as long as you were different in an all the same kind of way. Not many different people seemed to survive the 1960's which leads me to believe that if you survived the 60's then a) you totally weren't there or b) deep down you were a venture capitalist that pretended to get high and was really just biding your time until the 1980's so that you could buy buy low sell high.
By the end of the book I felt embarrassed for Peggy and I really hoped she at least made enough money to buy a few balls of H.
February 12, 2010
I loved this book when I was about 15 or 16. I probably read it 3 or 4 times. It had everything a teenage girl likes to read about-lesbian sex, straight sex, lots of drugs, etc. My mother got a hold of it (along with my album of the cast of Hair) & threw it out. It was probably pretty tame compared to the books out today.
February 26, 2012
I absolutely loved this. Best star book I 've read, and to think I got this at the St. Vincent Depaul for 50 cents.
April 19, 2015
A lot of the claims in this book have long been said to be untrue.
I tend to agree with that.
Throughout the book, Peggy just seems to be laying exclusive claim to Janis, trying to make the reader believe she was the only true friend and lover in Janis' life.
People, such as Sunshine and Linda, are written off as star sucker groupies, when it is well known that both women were long time, close friends of a Janis.
Peggy also takes the hatchet to Sam Andrew, along with several others, and honestly, I just didn't believe her.
I think the author wildly exaggerates her relationship with Janis and seems to resent anyone who was truly close to her, or whom against she has an axe to grind.
I must admit though, I did kind of enjoy the book, in a ' can't look away' kind of spirit.
Though I often felt the author was often just going for shock value.
This may have had the desired effect back when the book was written, but drugs and lesbian sex are just not so worthy of the shock and awe that I felt the author is constantly trying to evoke.
If you are looking for a true insight into the life of Janis Joplin, there are several books that are much better and honest than this one.
But for a throwaway tale of wild debauchery, it is an entertaining read.
Just be sure to leave your disbelief at the door.
I tend to agree with that.
Throughout the book, Peggy just seems to be laying exclusive claim to Janis, trying to make the reader believe she was the only true friend and lover in Janis' life.
People, such as Sunshine and Linda, are written off as star sucker groupies, when it is well known that both women were long time, close friends of a Janis.
Peggy also takes the hatchet to Sam Andrew, along with several others, and honestly, I just didn't believe her.
I think the author wildly exaggerates her relationship with Janis and seems to resent anyone who was truly close to her, or whom against she has an axe to grind.
I must admit though, I did kind of enjoy the book, in a ' can't look away' kind of spirit.
Though I often felt the author was often just going for shock value.
This may have had the desired effect back when the book was written, but drugs and lesbian sex are just not so worthy of the shock and awe that I felt the author is constantly trying to evoke.
If you are looking for a true insight into the life of Janis Joplin, there are several books that are much better and honest than this one.
But for a throwaway tale of wild debauchery, it is an entertaining read.
Just be sure to leave your disbelief at the door.
July 31, 2014
It was a pretty interesting read, for sure. Although I'm even more curious how much of e memories are real or heroin-induced, it was fun to "get inside" the minds of Peggy and Janis for a bit :)
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April 10, 2025Difícil de valorar. Probablemente demasiado centrado en el sexo. Muy obviamente motivado por la necesidad de Caserta de proclamar "¡Janis me quería!" en una época en la que bastantes la consideraron responsable de su muerte. Por otra parte, es un testimonio 100% compatible con otras biografías de Janis y bastante más emotivo. Creo que cumplió su función para la época y, viendo el rechazo visceral que aún despierta en algunos, no lo hizo mal. Penita por Janis.
July 17, 2022
Going Down with Janis by Peggy Caserta.
The book that outed Janis Joplin.
(Embellished and published by some wealthy straight journalist man I forgot the name of.)
I went on my lil huntington quest for this book because I felt drawn to Joplin and wanted to get to know her more. Unlike rock icons such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, and Elton John, I honestly thought she was straight as a ruler until I stumbled upon Woodstock footage of some blonde chick holding the brunette’s hand, which turned out to be Joplin publicly displaying affection with her “tour-mate” Peggy Caserta. Intrigued to read about a coveted relationship with the celebrity during the Stonewall era of gay activism, I paid $50 + shipping for this used book because there aren’t many copies circulating around today. As I progressed in reading this book and did some more research about the context of its publication, I was disappointed—but not surprised to find out it’s just sensationalized erotica disguised as a forbidden gay love memoir.
I recommend this book only if you want some overpriced vintage erotica for…ehem…personal reasons. (I won’t judge!) Don’t recommend if you want to tap into Joplin’s artistic merit as the creative well-written virtuosa influenced by Bessie Smith’s jazz and blues vocals from the Harlem Renaissance. Don’t recommend if you want a wholesome sugar-coated book narrating Joplin as the happy hippie icon she’s normally depicted as in contemporary pop culture. The true backstory behind this publication is that Joplin’s junkie girlfriend Peggy sold out to a pervy ghostwriter for drug money. There were some compromising scenes where I could smell that they’re undoubtedly written by a straight guy instead of a lesbian. Some segments were comically incorrect about female anatomy and would generate easy karma if shared on r/NotHowGirlsWork. The book aims to paint Joplin as this “lying, messy, heroin-injecting, labia-licking slut”. I’ll never know if she’s really like that because she died 50+ years before my time and I now don’t want to dig deeper.
3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🍅🍅
The book that outed Janis Joplin.
(Embellished and published by some wealthy straight journalist man I forgot the name of.)
I went on my lil huntington quest for this book because I felt drawn to Joplin and wanted to get to know her more. Unlike rock icons such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, and Elton John, I honestly thought she was straight as a ruler until I stumbled upon Woodstock footage of some blonde chick holding the brunette’s hand, which turned out to be Joplin publicly displaying affection with her “tour-mate” Peggy Caserta. Intrigued to read about a coveted relationship with the celebrity during the Stonewall era of gay activism, I paid $50 + shipping for this used book because there aren’t many copies circulating around today. As I progressed in reading this book and did some more research about the context of its publication, I was disappointed—but not surprised to find out it’s just sensationalized erotica disguised as a forbidden gay love memoir.
I recommend this book only if you want some overpriced vintage erotica for…ehem…personal reasons. (I won’t judge!) Don’t recommend if you want to tap into Joplin’s artistic merit as the creative well-written virtuosa influenced by Bessie Smith’s jazz and blues vocals from the Harlem Renaissance. Don’t recommend if you want a wholesome sugar-coated book narrating Joplin as the happy hippie icon she’s normally depicted as in contemporary pop culture. The true backstory behind this publication is that Joplin’s junkie girlfriend Peggy sold out to a pervy ghostwriter for drug money. There were some compromising scenes where I could smell that they’re undoubtedly written by a straight guy instead of a lesbian. Some segments were comically incorrect about female anatomy and would generate easy karma if shared on r/NotHowGirlsWork. The book aims to paint Joplin as this “lying, messy, heroin-injecting, labia-licking slut”. I’ll never know if she’s really like that because she died 50+ years before my time and I now don’t want to dig deeper.
3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🍅🍅
July 24, 2009
This book published just a few years after singer Janis Joplin's death of an overdose of heroin is by Peggy Caserta as told to Dan Knapp. Peggy was a former lesbian lover of Ms. Joplin. The expression, play hard, die young applies here. Joplin grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, and was an insecure woman who never really got over the teasing and tormenting she received as a youngster in High School for being chubby and plain looking. She was constantly looking for love and approval. Although both Janis and Peggy dated other men and women, Peggy and Janis managed to sustain a gently warm, ongoing relationship for several years. Peggy is very honest and detailed about her relationship with Janis Joplin: the drugs, the parties, their sexual relationship and the jealousies. This book is a definite "do not miss" if you want to learn more about this wonderful legend.
February 3, 2017
slightly sleazy and top-heavy with a dated TMI prurience, but there's still enough interesting information here to merit recommendation for fans. Some fascinating details about early recreational LSD use in California, and some entertaining anecdotes about the "Cheap Thrills" sessions and more. Guardedly recommended.
June 27, 2017
read this in the late 70's, i think....sure some of the things happened but some is not true...read other books about Janis to find truth about her life.
September 22, 2022
Incredibly sad and moving, Going Down with Janis is a whirlwind of emotion, affection, and loss. I hope Janis's soul is resting peacefully now compared to the tumultuous addiction she suffered as told in the pages of this book. It's a prime example too of how labels can only go so far with someone's sexuality and the personal connections you have with actual people mean so much more. Janis and Peggy's relationship as shown in this book will be a relic of a lost time for years to come
July 30, 2022
Read years ago but still recall it
December 24, 2024
don't bother. gossipy porn-adjacent. while i don't know, of course, I don't trust the narrator.
January 13, 2026
Although Peggy was a pretty unreliable narrator this book was a sad trauma and put a pit in my stomach. I won’t forget it.
January 17, 2026
A real shocker written by a junkie needing to score.
March 4, 2017
Very moving book, I cried at the end.
February 26, 2025
Re-reading this 20 years later, it's not QUITE as horrendously trashy as I remembered, though it does contain some grotesque and bizarre descriptions of sex acts, particularly oral. Peggy and Janis's relationship was obviously sensationalized by the ghostwriter to be tit-illating, but the graphic sexual encounters in this book (and the constant comparisons to food products) are just gross. That being said, it's a compelling read even if certain events were exaggerated or fictionalized. I picked it up because of my deep interest in Janis's life and music, and I wanted to read all the perspectives I could. Whenever I'm interested in the life of a public figure, I try to get as much information as I can on them from different sources, to form the most comprehensive picture. It's best to read this as almost a fictional account, though it's clear even through the sensationalism that Peggy cared deeply for Janis and was devastated by her death. I haven't yet read Peggy's other memoir, I Ran Into Some Trouble, which was published a few years ago. It will be interesting to see how her perspective changed over the decades and how much of her recollections vary with time.
December 5, 2013
I loved this book when I read it aged around 12, found amongst my dad's bookshelves. Along with 'Carol' by Patricia Highsmith, it was an eye-opener about the queer sexualities that, until then, had remained hidden from view. Realistically though, a bloody awful book, sensationalist kiss-and-tell nonsense!
August 9, 2016
I first read this in 1978, when I was 18. My roommate in college gave me this book to help bring me out of the closet, which is something her ex did for her three years earlier! Anyway, I wasn't that familiar with Janis but learned a great deal about her inner life and what things were like for musicians during the sex-drugs-rock and roll years.
March 3, 2013
Very interesting book that takes you to a first hand look into the life of one of the first true rock stars. Janice had a difficult life. Parts of this book made me blush. I had to put the book down more that once. It was a lot to handle. I'm sure it was overwhelming for Janice too.
March 9, 2013
Judging by the first chapter, the title of this book needs a different preposition that "with."
Read this ages ago. Entertaining. Not that I'm an expert on Miss Joplin, but I find this account suspect. Just my gut.
Read this ages ago. Entertaining. Not that I'm an expert on Miss Joplin, but I find this account suspect. Just my gut.
July 15, 2008
Tell-all memoir from one of Janis Joplin's lovers. Nothing to write home about.
November 18, 2010
I liked this book because it gave an interesting look into the life of Janis Joplin. The author didn't shy away from Janis' bisexuality and her involvement with the tragic blues singer.
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November 30, 2012Pretty good...
December 31, 2012
I wish I had found this book when I was 14. If you are queer and love Janis have feelings attacks you should totally read this. It very well may all be lies but I want to, and so I do, believe.
November 17, 2021
I read this book in 1976. It was kind of porno and an introduction to a world I knew existed but had not experienced. I was a good girl. They were not. I was so fascinated by it all.
September 11, 2016
ehhh....found it at a used book sale...it was okay...
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews