{"title":"Janis Joplin","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs well as being one of the finest rock singers of the 1960s, Janis Joplin was also a great blues singer, making her material her own with her wailing, raspy, supercharged emotional delivery. First rising to stardom as the frontwoman for San Francisco psychedelic band Big Brother \u0026amp; the Holding Company, she left the group in the late '60s for a brief and uneven (though commercially successful) career as a solo artist. Although she wasn't always supplied with the best material or most sympathetic musicians, her best recordings, with both Big Brother and on her own, are some of the most exciting performances of the era. She also did much to redefine the role of women in rock with her assertive, sexually forthright persona and raunchy, electrifying on-stage presence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJoplin was raised in the small town of Port Arthur, Texas, and much of her subsequent personal difficulties and unhappiness have been attributed to her inability to fit in with the expectations of the conservative community. She'd been singing blues and folk music since her teens, playing on occasion with future Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen in the '60s. There are a few live pre-Big Brother recordings (not issued until after her death), reflecting the inspiration of early blues singers like Bessie Smith, that demonstrate she was well on her way to developing a personal style before hooking up with the band. She had already been to California before moving there permanently in 1966, when she joined the struggling San Francisco psychedelic group Big Brother \u0026amp; the Holding Company. Although their loose, occasionally sloppy brand of bluesy psychedelia had some charm, there can be no doubt that Joplin -- who initially didn't even sing lead on all of the material -- was primarily responsible for lifting them out of the ranks of the ordinary. She made them a hit at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, where her stunning version of \"Ball and Chain\" (perhaps her very best performance) was captured on film. After a debut on the Mainstream label, Big Brother signed a management deal with Albert Grossman and moved to Columbia. Their second album, Cheap Thrills, topped the charts in 1968, but Joplin left the band shortly afterward, enticed by the prospects of stardom as a solo act.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJoplin's first album, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, was recorded with the Kozmic Blues Band, a unit that included horns and retained just one of the musicians that had played with her in Big Brother (guitarist Sam Andrew). Although it was a hit, it wasn't her best work; the new group, though more polished musically, weren't the sympathetic accompanists that Big Brother were, purveying a soul-rock groove that could sound forced. That's not to say the album was totally unsuccessful, boasting one of her signature tunes in \"Try (Just a Little Bit Harder).\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor years, Joplin's life had been a roller coaster of drug addiction, alcoholism, and volatile personal relationships, documented in several biographies. Musically, however, things were on the upswing shortly before her death, as she assembled a better, more versatile backing outfit, the Full Tilt Boogie Band, for her final album Pearl (ably produced by Paul Rothchild). Pearl was solid evidence of her growth into a mature, diverse stylist who could handle blues, soul, and folk-rock. \"Mercedes Benz,\" \"Get It While You Can,\" and Kris Kristofferson's \"Me and Bobby McGee\" are some of her very best tracks. Tragically, she died before the album's release, overdosing on heroin in a Hollywood hotel room in October 1970. \"Me and Bobby McGee\" became a posthumous number one single in 1971, and thus the song with which she is most frequently identified. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"janis-joplin-i-got-dem-ol-kozmic-blues-again-mama","title":"| I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eLimited Edition 180 gram LP pressing of the classic 1969 album recorded after Janis left Big Brother And the Holding Company and includes the massive hit \"Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)\". When Janis Joplin died in October 1970 at the early age of 27, thus involuntarily confirming the beatnik adage -live fast, love hard, die young®, it was only a matter of time before she was crowned the \"Queen of Rock\". Of greater importance than this posthumous entry into rock 'n' roll's hall of fame is the recognition during her lifetime of her explosive vocal style, which - so Vogue - -turned the whole history of singing upside down. Janis Joplin's discography is just as short and changeable as her life.  After two LP releases with the standard 'cast' of rock musicians in the band Big Brother And The Holding Company, with whose excellent musical support she obtained her first recording contract with Columbia Records in 1968, the company provided her with a group augmented with organ and winds. Their intention was to broaden her vocal expression with blues and funk elements, which, however, her most loyal fans regarded as betrayal of the ideals of rock music. Rock fans in the Old World were less critical, especially since Joplin and her Kozmic Blues Band went on a two-month tour of Europe. For those Woodstock fans whose ears are still ringing with the band's full, meaty wind sound and Janis's bluesy soul singing, this album is an absolute must..\" Recording: June - August 1969 by Sy Mitchell, Jerry Hochman, and Alex Kazanegras Production: Gabriel Mekler.\" \"I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!\" - Janis Joplin (voc); Cornelius \"Snooky\" Flowers, Terry Clements (sax); Luis Gasca (tr); Richard Kermode, Gabriel Mekler (org); Sam Andrew (g); Brad Campbell (b); Maury Baker, Lonnie Castille (dr), a.o..\" standard sleeve\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eTracklist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eA1        Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA2        Maybe\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA3        One Good Man\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA4        As Good As You've Been To This World\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB1        To Love Somebody\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB2        Kozmic Blues\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB3        Little Girl Blue\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB4        Work Me, Lord\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003e*Audio and\/or tracklist may vary slightly from the vinyl version.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eLabel: SNYL\u003cbr\u003e\r\nCatalog: 978221\u003cbr\u003e\r\nRel. Date: 08\/21\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\r\nUPC: 886979782211\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; clipboard-write\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/album\/i-got-dem-ol-kozmic-blues-again-mama\/1073650135\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;border-radius:10px;\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat Detail: LP\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Rock\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 08\/21\/2012\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Janis Joplin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44588052447465,"sku":"5NFJD4-N33C-00","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/Janis-Joplin-I-GOT-DEM-OL-KOZMIC-BLUES-AGAIN-MAMA_2OeLC.jpg?v=1742431091"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/collections\/image_d0154d5f-cee3-41f0-98ec-fc9870537bcd.jpg?v=1706347137","url":"https:\/\/www.vibinvinyl.com\/collections\/janis-joplin.oembed","provider":"Vibin' Vinyl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}