Janis Joplin

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Janis Joplin One of the most colorful music legends of the 1960's was Janis Joplin. Blues legend Janis Lyn Joplin was born on January 19th 1943, the eldest child of parents Seth and Dorothy Joplin. Janis was born and raised in the small Southern petroleum industry town of Port Arthur, Texas. Her father was a canning factory worker, her mother a registrar at a local business college. Her non-aberrational upbringing coupled with the atmosphere of Port Arthur at the time; generally restrictive, intolerant, and unnurturing must've made even Janis' early childhood difficult. By all accounts, however, Janis seems to have been a "normal" and happy child, who fitted society's usual definition of "pretty". It was in Janis' adolescence that the hang-ups and hassles that were to affect the path of the rest of her life. In a sense, her rigid upbringing played a large part in making Janis who she was. This would never have been admitted at the time, but, predictably, the "Port Arthur" ethic created a fire inside Janis and kept it burning until her death. Janis' troubles began, when she was a teenager with her "good looks" gradually began to disintegrate, her soft blonde hair turned into an unruly brown mane. She also developed severe acne, which would scar her mentally as well as physically. Hence, Janis became something of a loner, as was named the ugly girl. She soon began avoiding mirrors, and her anxiety about her looks was made worse by the constant taunts by peers, who rejected her and often made fun of her. When Janis found that society had rejected her, she rejected it. Janis grew up on classical music and country music back in Texas, discovered the blues in Louisiana. Janis was soon inspired to both learn and appreciate music... ... middle of paper ... ...itely assumed is that Janis is a legend, who will never be forgotten. Just like the old blues singers whom she idolized, Janis will remain firmly etched into the memory of all those who were there during her time at Rock's Pantheon. This memory has also been passed down to a whole new generation, who are at last appreciating records by an artist who could sing without state-of-the-art technology. Today, Janis' albums have gone gold, platinum and triple platinum. Her Greatest Hits Album still tops the charts on the American Billboard, and numerous compilation albums have been released since her death, including the box-set "Janis". She has been the subject of a feature documentary "Janis" (1973), more recently VH1s "Legends", and a film of her life is currently under discussion. Three decades on and still, few other women could've earned the nickname "Pearl" so well.

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