CAIRO – 4 October 2017: October 4 is the day rock music icon Janis Joplin was found dead in 1970. Though she died at the young age of 27, Joplin is still remembered to this day, both for her music and her wild lifestyle – an icon to women all across America.
Hailing from Texas, Joplin was born on January 19, 1943. She was a born rebel, refusing to conform to her high school or society’s standards of how to dress or behave. She dared to wear men’s clothes during the conservative 1950s, and she was scorned and bullied by her peers. Joplin’s love of music carried her through, and by 1966, she was part of a group called Big Brother and the Holding Company, which is where she got her break.
Combining blues and jazz, Joplin’s powerful vocals caused a stir at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, where she and her band Big Brother were noticed by Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman. Their 1968 album “Cheap Thrills” became a massive success, though Joplin was on her way to overshadowing Big Brother and eventually left them to hit it on her own.
She released her first solo album, “I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!” in 1969, though it wasn’t the success she was hoping for. At around this time, she began using drugs and alcohol to a dangerous extent.
Joplin’s life seemed to be turning around, however, as she was working hard and proudly on her album “Pearl”. Unfortunately, she never lived to see its success. She was found dead in her Los Angeles hotel room, having accidentally overdosed on heroin. “Pearl” was released a year after her death.
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