Longlisted for the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence This blazingly intimate biography of Janis Joplin establishes the Queen of Rock & Roll as the rule-breaking musical trailblazer and complicated, gender-bending rebel she was. Janis Joplin’s first transgressive act was to be a white girl who gained an early sense of the power of the blues, music you could only find on obscure … you could only find on obscure records and in roadhouses along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. But even before that, she stood out in her conservative oil town. She was a tomboy who was also intellectually curious and artistic. By the time she reached high school, she had drawn the scorn of her peers for her embrace of the Beats and her racially progressive views. Her parents doted on her in many ways, but were ultimately put off by her repeated acts of defiance.
Janis Joplin has passed into legend as a brash, impassioned soul doomed by the pain that produced one of the most extraordinary voices in rock history. But in these pages, Holly George-Warren provides a revelatory and deeply satisfying portrait of a woman who wasn’t all about suffering. Janis was a perfectionist: a passionate, erudite musician who was born with talent but also worked exceptionally hard to develop it. She was a woman who pushed the boundaries of gender and sexuality long before it was socially acceptable. She was a sensitive seeker who wanted to marry and settle down–but couldn’t, or wouldn’t. She was a Texan who yearned to flee Texas but could never quite get away–even after becoming a countercultural icon in San Francisco.
Written by one of the most highly regarded chroniclers of American music history, and based on unprecedented access to Janis Joplin’s family, friends, band mates, archives, and long-lost interviews, Janis is a complex, rewarding portrait of a remarkable artist finally getting her due.
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A very readable recounting of Janis Joplin’s life — I tore through this and played my beloved Pearl CD with renewed respect.
Fascinating
Informative
Very sad
I received a free electronic copy of this biography from Netgalley, Holly George-Warren, and Simon Schuster. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read Janis: Her Life and Music of my own volition and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. This is a book every woman should read.
Janis was – and still is – an important factor in my lifetime. She was a wonderful musician, and she brought happiness or tears to your eyes with her songs. She was for me an example of taking the whole woman’s lib thing at least one step too far – but oh, Lord, take a step or two down that road or no one else will acknowledge your independence and self-will. This book was a long, hard read. Watching the self-destruction at close range was if anything even more difficult than it was back in the day. But reading this made her legacy even more memorable, more important than before. So much of it was not shared with her public, or if it was we considered it to be sour grapes or jealousy. Through the eyes of Holly George-Warren, we not only see Janis falling into space – we also see her climbing the highest hill. She was a remarkable woman with an extraordinary talent. May her music live on into the lifetimes of our children and theirs, as well as the important lessons in prudence and self-esteem that Janis never found.
I was not a fan of Janis Joplin’s music when she was popular but I watched a biography about her on TV and became interested in her. This was an excellent book about Janis from the time she was born until her tragic death at the age of 27. in 1970. It was well researched and well written and I had a hard time putting it down. I was surprised to find out what a talented artist she was as well as being a very talented musician. Even if you are not a fan of her type of music, I highly recommend this very interesting book. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book!!!
I love reading true stories, and even though Janis was before my time, i always found her to be intriguing, and I curious about this woman with this powerful and distinct voice, that you recognize immediately.
The book was seemed to be well researched, and gave the reader insight into her childhood in Port Arthrur, Texas, and her rise to fame, and her untimely death.
Thanks so much to @Netgalley @SIMON&Schuster and the author, Holly George Warren for letting me read and review this ARC Ebook, that is due to be released on Oct 22, 2019!!
Well done!!!