Having made  her performing debut in December 1961, this expressive
 singer subsequently enjoyed a tenure at Houston's Purple Onion club. Drawing inspiration from Bessie Smith and  Odetta, Joplin developed a brash, uncompromising vocal style quite unlike accustomed folk  madonnas Joan Baez and Judy Collins.  In 1963 Janis moved to San Francisco where she became a regular attraction at the North Beach Coffee Gallery. This initial spell was  blighted by her addiction to amphetamines and in 1965 Joplin returned to Texas in an effort to dry out. She resumed her university studies, but on recovery turned again to singing. The following year Janis was invited back to the Bay Area to front Big Brother And The Holding  Company. This exceptional improvisational blues act was the ideal foil to her full-throated technique and although
 marred by poor production, their debut album effectively captures an early optimism.

       Joplin's reputation blossomed following the Monterey Pop  Festival, of which she was one of the star attractions. The attendant publicity exacerbated growing tensions within the line-up as critics openly declared that the group was  holding the singer's potential in check. Cheap Thrills, a  joyous celebration of true psychedelic soul, contained two Joplin 'standards', 'Piece Of My Heart' and 'Ball And Chain', but the sessions were fraught with difficulties and  Joplin left the group in November 1968. Electric Flag  members Mike Bloomfield, Harvey Brooks and Nick Gravenites helped assemble a new act, initially known as
Janis And The Joplinaires, but later as the Kozmic Blues Band. Former Big Brother Sam Andrew (guitar, vocals),  plus Terry Clements (saxophone), Marcus Doubleday (trumpet), Bill King (organ), Brad Campbell (bass) and
Roy Markowitz (drums) made up the band's initial line-up which was then bedevilled by defections. A disastrous debut concert at the Stax /Volt convention in December  1968 was a portent of future problems, but although I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama was coolly received,
 the set nonetheless contained several excellent Joplin vocals, notably 'Try', 'Maybe' and 'Little Girl Blue'. However, live shows grew increasingly erratic as her addiction to drugs and alcohol deepened. When a restructured Kozmic Blues Band, also referred to as the  Main Squeeze, proved equally uncomfortable, the singer dissolved the band altogether, and undertook medical  advice. A slimmed-down group, the Full Tilt Boogie Band, was unveiled in May 1970. Brad Campbell and latecomer  John Till (guitar) were retained from the previous group, while the induction of Richard Bell (piano), Ken Pearson  (organ) and Clark Pierson (drums) created a tighter,more intimate sound. In July they toured Canada with the Grateful Dead, before commencing work on a 'debut' album. The sessions were all but complete when, on 4 October 1970, Joplin died of a heroin overdose at her Hollywood hotel.

        The highlight is Kris Kristofferson 's 'Me And Bobby McGee', which allowed Joplin to be both vulnerable and assertive. The song deservedly topped the US chart when issued as a single and despite numerous interpretations, this remains the definitive version. Although a star at the
time of her passing, Janis Joplin has not been accorded the retrospective acclaim afforded other deceased contemporaries. She was, like her idol Otis Redding,  latterly regarded as one-dimensional, lacking in subtlety or
 nuance. Yet her impassioned approach was precisely her attraction - Janis knew few boundaries, artistic or  personal - and her sadly brief catalogue is marked by bare-nerved honesty.