Janis Joplin was undoubtedly the greatest white female blues singer of her generation. But her death of an overdose of drugs destroyed more than a rare talent. For in her abandoned all-outness, Janis Joplin also embodied the emotional aspirations of a generation.
Deborah Landau does a great job describing Janis Joplin's rise to fame and unfortunate early death. The book includes many photographs and lyrics.
Janis grew up in Port Arthur, TX and was a misfit who was often teased, even to the point of having things thrown at her by classmates.
San Francisco's music explosion was where her music career took off. The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane were well known in San Fran when Janis took the stage with her uninhibited and unbridled energy which infected crowds into throngs of adoring fans.
Janis lived life at full tilt. She was quoted as saying, "I'd rather have ten years of super-hypermost than live to be 70 sitting in some goddamn chair watching TV. Right now is where you are, how can you wait?" She went on to say that she didn't want to do anything half-assed. When people encouraged her to sing softer to preserve her voice, she responded, "Why should I hold back now and sound mediocre just so I can sound mediocre 20 years from now?"
Janis' approach to life to "get it while you can" electrified the world.
I love Janice and found this author to repeat themselves or drag their heals in telling the story. Not sure if they were trying to obtain a volume of pages, but there is only so many ways one can tell the same facts. Maybe I'm reading this book as a person not from the era it was written in