Janis Lyn Joplin was born on January 19, 1943 in Port Arthur, TX. The daughter of a Texaco engineer and a college registrar (Seth and Dorothy Joplin, respectively), Janis attended church, sang in the choir, and grew into an awkward teen that loved the blues. She left Port Arthur to attend college in Beaumont and Austin, TX, and then traveled to San Francisco in 1963.
Joplin kicked around until her big break as lead vocalist for the band Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1966. In the four years that followed, Janis Joplin’s passion-fueled voice made her a rock legend. As Joplin’s biographer Myra Friedman stated, “It wasn’t only her voice that thrilled, with its amazing range and strength and awesome wails. To see her was to be sucked into a maelstrom of feeling that words can barely suggest.”
As Janis put it (from an NPR story): “Playing is just about feeling. It isn’t necessarily about misery, it isn’t about happiness. It’s just about letting yourself feel all those things you already have inside of you but are trying to push aside because they don’t make for polite conversation or something. But if you just get up there — that’s the only reason I can sing. Because I get up there and just let all those things come out.”
Joplin died in a Los Angeles hotel of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970 at the age of 27- just sixteen days after the death of Jimi Hendrix. Here are the locations associated with the iconic singer.
Texas
Port Arthur, TX
- St Mary’s Hospital– Janis Lyn Joplin was born here on January 19, 1943.
- Museum of the Gulf Coast– This museum has a permanent display on the second floor dedicated to Janis Joplin.
- Janis Joplin’s first home– The location of Janis Joplin’s original home.
- Janis Joplin’s childhood home– The Joplins moved into this home in 1947; there is a maker from the Texas Historical Commission outside the home today.
- First Christian Church (former)- Where Janis Joplin was baptized and sang in the choir.
- Tyrrell Elementary School– Janis Joplin’s elementary school.
- Woodrow Wilson Junior High– Janis Joplin’s former junior high school, since then demolished.
- Thomas Jefferson High School- Janis Joplin’s high school, now the Thomas A. Edison Middle School.
- Port Arthur College– Where Janis Joplin’s mother worked, and where Janis earned a key punch certificate after high school.
Austin, TX
- Threadgill’s (former)– A juke joint that was built in an old filling station; Joplin cut her teeth performing here.
California
Los Angeles, CA
- Barney’s Beanery– This tavern is the last place Janis Joplin was seen alive. She was drinking here on October 30, 1970- the night before she overdosed.
- Landmark Motor Hotel– The hotel where Janis Joplin overdosed on October 4, 1970.
- Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park– Joplin was cremated here, as per her final wishes.
San Francisco, CA
- Avalon Theater– The theater where Big Brother and The Holding Company were the house band from 1966-67.
- Janis Joplin’s 1967-68 apartment– Janis Joplin rented an apartment at this Victorian house.
San Anselmo, CA
- The Lion’s Share– A former small music club where Joplin arranged for her funeral party to be held, at which the Grateful Dead performed.
Stinson Beach, CA
- Stinson Beach Park– Where a portion of Janis Joplin’s ashes were spread after her cremation.
New York
New York City, NY
- Anderson Theater- Big Brother and the Holding Company played their New York debut performance here on February 17, 1968.
- Chelsea Hotel- Leonard Cohen wrote a song about a romantic encounter with Janis Joplin at the Chelsea Hotel (“Chelsea Hotel #2”).
- Village Theater- Located in the basement of the building that housed the Village Gate, the Village Theater hosted the play based on Janis Joplin’s life- Love, Janis.
Woodstock, NY
- Woodstock– Janis Joplin played with the Kozmic Blues Band at Woodstock in August 1969.