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doomkittiekhan 's review for:
Janis: Her Life and Music
by Holly George-Warren
Holly George-Warren brings the extraordinary and electric rock goddess, Janis Joplin, to life in her new biography. This is perhaps the best narrative of Joplin's life, and a lovely companion to Laura Joplin's [b:Love Janis|40307919|Love Janis|Laura Joplin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527883422l/40307919._SY75_.jpg|62590627]. I was not previously acquainted with George-Warren's work, but after reading this, I am very interested in her treatment of other music legends.
A lifelong Janis Joplin fan, I could not wait to get my hands on a copy of this book. When I say lifelong, I truly mean it. I learned to sing Joplin's versions of Little Girl Blue, Mercedes Benz, and Me and Bobby McGee with my cousins when I was in elementary school. When I turned 16, I planned a roadtrip to Threadgill's in Austin just to see the Janis Joplin artifacts that were moved to their new location. I didn't get to go on this particular roadtrip until I was several years older, but it was no less magical. In my 20s, when I was on my honeymoon in San Francisco, my husband and I walked around Haight-Ashbury, the Castro and Mission districts, finding as many past Janis Joplin residences as we could. It was a pilgrimage. Call me starstruck, but I have always been drawn to Joplin's big personality, her outrageous fashion, and her "fuck-all" attitude.
Beginning with the lives of Joplin's parents, Dorothy and Seth Joplin, in Port Arthur, Texas we follow the entire course of Joplin's life to her premature death in 1970 at the age of 27 due to a heroin overdose. Presenting equally Joplin's personal and professional life, George-Warren skillfully unravels the self-constructed biographical myths that Joplin created, and leaves the readers with a beautifully talented, sensitive, and misunderstood soul that broke the mold of American music in the 1960s.
With excerpts from interviews, and Joplin's letters to family and loved ones woven throughout nearly every page, this book feels almost autobiographical. Joplin 'speaks' from these pages. I wanted to hug her, party with her, sew giant fur quilts from coats in her Chelsea Hotel apartment with her, listen to records, walk in the redwoods, and talk to her for hours. This book brought me so close to a larger than life human being, and one I can only ever know through their music, photographs, and ephemera. George-Warren did right by Janis, and I think, had she been able to read this book, she would have loved it.
Even if you're not a Janis Joplin fan, this book is an intimate look at the San Francisco music scene and the rise of hippie counter-culture in the 1960s. Haight-Ashbury, Hells Angels, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, LSD, the Chelsea Hotel, Ed Sullivan, the Hollywood Bowl. It was a magical trip, man, and Janis Joplin serves as your psychedelic crushed velvet and fur wearing faerie godmother guiding you through it all.
A lifelong Janis Joplin fan, I could not wait to get my hands on a copy of this book. When I say lifelong, I truly mean it. I learned to sing Joplin's versions of Little Girl Blue, Mercedes Benz, and Me and Bobby McGee with my cousins when I was in elementary school. When I turned 16, I planned a roadtrip to Threadgill's in Austin just to see the Janis Joplin artifacts that were moved to their new location. I didn't get to go on this particular roadtrip until I was several years older, but it was no less magical. In my 20s, when I was on my honeymoon in San Francisco, my husband and I walked around Haight-Ashbury, the Castro and Mission districts, finding as many past Janis Joplin residences as we could. It was a pilgrimage. Call me starstruck, but I have always been drawn to Joplin's big personality, her outrageous fashion, and her "fuck-all" attitude.
Beginning with the lives of Joplin's parents, Dorothy and Seth Joplin, in Port Arthur, Texas we follow the entire course of Joplin's life to her premature death in 1970 at the age of 27 due to a heroin overdose. Presenting equally Joplin's personal and professional life, George-Warren skillfully unravels the self-constructed biographical myths that Joplin created, and leaves the readers with a beautifully talented, sensitive, and misunderstood soul that broke the mold of American music in the 1960s.
With excerpts from interviews, and Joplin's letters to family and loved ones woven throughout nearly every page, this book feels almost autobiographical. Joplin 'speaks' from these pages. I wanted to hug her, party with her, sew giant fur quilts from coats in her Chelsea Hotel apartment with her, listen to records, walk in the redwoods, and talk to her for hours. This book brought me so close to a larger than life human being, and one I can only ever know through their music, photographs, and ephemera. George-Warren did right by Janis, and I think, had she been able to read this book, she would have loved it.
Even if you're not a Janis Joplin fan, this book is an intimate look at the San Francisco music scene and the rise of hippie counter-culture in the 1960s. Haight-Ashbury, Hells Angels, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, LSD, the Chelsea Hotel, Ed Sullivan, the Hollywood Bowl. It was a magical trip, man, and Janis Joplin serves as your psychedelic crushed velvet and fur wearing faerie godmother guiding you through it all.