Relations and migration of Janis Joplin - Essay Example

Relations and migration of Janis Joplin Janis Joplin is referred to as a shooting star and heroine of her time. She was a different artist of rock n roll during the 1960s with magnificent and unique hits that had a significant effect on the blues music industry. Despite the short live life, Joplin’s life was full of different activities and events that were experienced by few during her time. Her performances in different places, in America, built her career and enabled her to develop courage and perfection in performance of blues music. During her youth age, she performed in clubs and bars in Port Arthur, Texas, California, Woodstock, San Francisco and other towns in America. Her relationships with people and the blues contributed significantly to her styles, lyrics and performances of blues music (Echols 2). Janis Joplin is considered a heroin mainly due to the success in her music career. Her singing career started in 1962 when she recorded her first hit called “what good can drink do”. Janis Joplin lived in Texas where she had recorded the music at the home of another student in the month of December the same year. However, Janis Joplin decided to leave Texas for San Francisco. She had moved out of Texas to change the environment since she claimed that her head was in a different place. In January 1963, she lived in North beach but later she decided to move to Haight-Ashbury. In the year 1964, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane recorded several hits. She increased her drug intake. She acquired reputation as a speed freak. She was an occasional heroin user and alcoholic. One of her best beverages was southern comfort. Her friend observed her drinking nature and persuaded her to go back to Port Arthur in the hope that she would reduce her drinking problem. Her friends organized her bus a farewell party so that she could go back to the port Author. Janis Joplin went back to Texas and specifically in Port Arthur. It helped to change her life style. She stopped drinking and also tried to avoid drug consumption. While, in Texas, she enrolled into Lamar University near Beaumont, Texas. In Lamar University, she was in a relationship with a man but she did not get married because the man terminated their marriage plans later. Janis Joplin agreed on a deal with Big Brother in 1966. She joined the group that by now was led by Chet Helms. Chet Helms was a promoter who meet her at Texas, but by then was managing Big brother. In June 4, 1966, she joined Big brother and was brought back to San Francisco by Chet Helm. At big brother, she made her first public performance was in San Francisco. She later went back to drugs. Stephen Ryder a friend and a keyboardist persuaded her to stop using drugs. Janis Joplin successfully managed to quit drugs once again. She then joined the band and she persuaded Dave Getz that the use of needles would not allowed whenever they rehearsed. Also, they had agreed that band members would not use needles in their homes whenever she visited them. She had taken a step forward from drugs. (Johnson 5) Afterward all the band mates settled in Lagunitas in California. It is where the five band mates lived communally. Janis Joplin had a relationship with the founding member of Ron McKernan, however, they remained to friends afterwards. In August 23, 1966, the group made an agreement with Independent Label Mainstream records. Janis Joplin relapsed back to drinking after the group joined some alcoholic hipsters in Chicago. Janis Joplin and the band recorded in Chicago recording Studio. However, the manager of the recording studio failed to pay for their plane back to San Francisco. The group travelled back to North California through road (Echols 3). After three years Joplin, learned of Gurley death due to drug overdose. Janis Joplin met Joe McDonald and became her lover. They were in a relationship for a few months and later separated. Janis Joplin began playing in clubs accompanied by big brother; they travelled in almost all the cities in America from San Francisco, Fillmore west, Winterland, Los Angeles, Washington and British Columbia. They also visited Massachusetts and California. The group later changed manager to Julius Karpen in 1966. They immediately started to perform in East coast in Philadelphia. They also made their first performance in the New York City. Janis Joplin separated from the Big Brother and started her own music career in 1969. She formed a new group called Kozmic blue band (Rodnitzky 2). In 1970 Janis Joplin travelled to Brazil for a vacation. In Brazil, she was able to quit drug and alcohol. In Brazil, she romanced with a fellow American tourist David George Niehaus. David studied for communication. Joplin was trying to avoid Drugs while she was in Brazil. When she went to United States she began using heroin. It made her relationship with David to end. Relations and relationship played a significant role in her performances and styles. In addition, relationships helped her to succeed in different areas of performance and acquire new opportunities in different areas. First; Joplin’s career was greatly influenced by her role models artists of the blues music. In several interviews, she named some artists such as Lead Belly, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Odetta. She gained experience and singing styles from her role models in her rock n roll music industry through listening and watching their performances and songs. (Johnson 4) Secondly, her relationship with fashion and music was also significant in the development of Joplin’s singing career. For instance, in high school, Joplin preferred wearing men’s shirts and tight clothes or short skirts. She eventually became outstanding in school resulting to being nicknamed a “pig." Other said that Joplin was always sexually promiscuous. In addition, she developed a group of friends who were guys with similar music interests to for the Beat Generation. Their group mainly rejected the regular social norms and focused on creative expression. (Johnson 1) Relationships with friends and people with common interests especially in music influenced her music life in a significant way. Her entire life consisted of friends’ relationships in different stages and places in her life as an artist. Joplin’s relationship with friends became back in high school when she established a group of friends with similar interests in music. The group persisted during her high school life where they performed in several local working class clubs and bars in Lousiana and Vinton. Joplin’s relationship with friends continues after enrolling at Lamar State College in Beaumont, Texas. In college, Joplin spent much of her time drinking and hanging out with friends. Joplin’s relationship with friends followed her to University of Texas at Austin as she studied arts. In the University, Janis Joplin widely participated in music. She made numerous friends while in university and even joined a music trio known as Waller Creek Boys. She performed folksongs at campus and Threadgill with her friends in Waller Creek Boys. Her gutsy singing style made her outstanding in the music group. After quitting school in 1963, Joplin and friend Chet Helms went to check the emerging scenes in the music industry in San Francisco. She played gigs and performed in various scenes like Monterey Folk Festival in 1963. Joplin’s relationship with Travis Rivers enabled her to acquire the opportunity to join a psychedelic rock music band, Big Brother and the Holding company, in San Francisco (Buchanan 1). In her music life, Janis Joplin had close relations with a number of music groups and bands. For example, she developed a music group while in high school to help her succeed. She also joined the Waller Creek Boys music trio group at the University of Texas in which they performed in many events, in Texas. Through her friend Travis Rivers, Joplin joined a popular music band in San Francisco, Big Brother. The band helped her to become successful and developed her to be a superstar in 1960s. After leaving Big Brother Music Company, Janis Joplin established her own music band, Kozmic Blues Band in 1969 and released her song “I got dem ol’kozmic blues again mama!” Through her music band, she produced several songs that marked her climax and the end of her career. She later died due to heroine’s overdose in 1970 (Rodnitzky 2). In conclusion, Joplin’s music life and career were similar to lives of other blues music artists in the world. She travelled in many countries, cities and town to perform her blues songs like other blues artists. Joplin also related with many people and became friends to many people through her music life. In addition, she had close relations with different music groups and bands during her time. Works Cited Buchanan, Russ. How Did Janis Joplin Influence Music? 2014. online. 29 April 2014. Echols, Alice. Scars of sweet paradise: the life and times of Janis Joplin. Los Angeles: H. Holt, 2000. Print. Johnson, Randy. "One Night With Janis Joplin." Journal of Arena (2012): 1-3. Print. Rodnitzky, Jerry. "Janis Joplin: The Hippie Blues Singer as Feminist Heroine." Journal of Texas Music History (2002): 2; 1-9. Print . Read More