As we close in on October 4th, 40 years since Janis Joplin left the world behind, the web is overflowing with friends and fans paying tribute to her. One who knew her best was John Till, guitarist and former member of the Full Tilt Boogie Band, the same band backing Janis during those final days.

Speaking recently with TheRecord.com‘s Joel Rubinoff, John had this to share:

“We lived in the Landmark Motor Hotel together (as a band). We’d go out to movies and restaurants and hang out in bars and there was a lot of sitting around the pool and talking about things like Vietnam and the Kent State massacre.

“I can’t describe how happy and what a good friend she was. It wasn’t an employer-employee relationship, because that’s the way Janis wanted it.”

“Forty years hasn’t done anything to ease the sadness,’’ he says softly. “I watch her on YouTube and I just shake my head. She was just so great.’’

(You can read the full article here)

Hollywood has been teasing a biopic for years, and starlet, Amy Adams recently confirmed to Variety she’s the one.

“I’m feeling excited, scared – all of the things,” Adams said, adding that she was a huge fan of Joplin, who died in 1970 at the age of 27.”

After much speculation as to whether a film will ever happen, (Renee Zellweger was tentatively cast in the early 90′s, followed shortly by artist Pink and Zooey Deschanel), if the current rumors are true, not only will Adams star as the blues mama, but the director will be Fernando Meirelles, the Oscar-nominated Brazilian director of the gang-violence flick “City of God.” Crazy, yes, but that certainly leaves a lot to be expected.

While we won’t exactly hold our breath, we will be as excited as the next fan to see Janis re-introduced to an entire genre of fans who know here name, but little else.

Until then, we’ve got a few goodies to share with you while we all enjoy the end to summer and the new season falls upon us…

1st, we have Janis performing “Cry Baby” in 1970 before an entranced Toronto crowd

2nd, we have her in full swing pouring out “Summertime” during the Cheap Thrills Recording Sessions

Lastly, we’ll check a more intimate version of “Me & Bobby McGee” from the first take she ever made of it. Its a beauty…

Get out there and enjoy it friends and be sure to toast a high one for our gal. Cheers Pearl!

National Public Radio dubbed Janis Joplin “the Queen of Rock” on a segment that aired this morning. Instead of the typical “best of” (read: “most famous”) track selections, the producers included a live version of “Women Is Losers” from a 1966 performance at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom. “Ball and Chain” from Monterey Pop followed and it was rounded out by the famous “Me and Bobby McGee.” They did not credit Kris Kristofferson with the song, which is too bad, as many people erroneously believe was written by the Queen of Rock. For more Janis Joplin on NPR, be sure to listen to the interview about The 27s from 2009.

There is little doubt that Janis Joplin’s iconic voice and wild lifestyle in the midst of the counter cultural sixties opened up the playing field to female rock stars, but although there have been countless famous singer-songwriters in the Joni Mitchell-vein and divas such as Madonna, not nearly enough larger-than-life Queen-bee rock personalities have emerged. Courtney Love and Amy Winehouse stand out like an open bottle of Jack at Sunday mass of course. Who else?

Janis Joplin (“Pearl”)

Born: January 19, 1943, in Port Arthur, Texas
Died: October 4, 1970, in a Los Angeles hotel room
Bands: Big Brother and The Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band, The Full Tilt Boogie Band

After a miserable childhood as Port Arthur’s “freak,” “creep,” and “pig” she went to found a crew of like-minded people in Austin’s University district. Janis sang vocal jazz, blues, country, folk, and bluegrass. In 1963, she left for the West Coast and spent time as a bohemian in North Beach. She moved up the coast and connected with the thriving folk scene that spread across several coffee houses. She recorded several demos accompanied by Jorma Kaukonen (later of The Jefferson Airplane), but got caught up in the speed scene, left town for NYC, came back, and was urged stock, The Band, Buddy Guy, The Dooto dry up at home. Back in Port Arthur she shed her wild life style and cultivated a slow domestic life style. In San Francisco, Chet Helms, who knew Joplin from Austin, managed a new psychedelic band called The Holding Company, and he thought she would be perfect for the gig. He sent mutual friend who convinced Janis is was time to return.

With Janis Joplin on board with The Big Brother and The Holding Company it didn’t take long before the band was known for raw-energy live shows. During the summer of ’66 the group moved next to the Grateful Dead; Janis and Pigpen soon had a little summer fling going. Big Brother’s major breakthrough occurred the following summer at the Monterey Pop Festival, which was appeared in D. A. Pennebaker’s Monterey Pop film. Big Brother and The Holding Company’s eponymous debut followed a few weeks later. The media loved the Janis’ raw vocals and wild demeanor, both on and off stage, but the rest of the group wasn’t equally excited about her commanding place in the spotlight.

Janis Joplin came from Port Arthur, Texas, via Austin, to San Francisco.

Cheap Thrills followed in early ’68 and its single, “Piece of My Heart,” rose to the top of the Billboard chart. The continued to tour and Janis sunk deeper into her cravings for heroin. Columbia Records declined her suggested name for the album, yet it pretty much summed up where she was at: Sex, Dope and Cheap Thrills. Tensions mounted and Janis Joplin left Big Brother at the end of 1968, ready for her “own” band. Joplin sought help to assemble the Kozmic Blues Band in early 1969 and they soon recorded I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! The Kozmic Blues Band backed her up later that year at the fabled Woodstock festival, but critics urged her to disband, which she did only a year after its inception. Janis Joplin was much more involved in selecting her final band, which she named the Full Tilt Boogie Band. “It’s my band,” she raved to a journalist. “Finally it’s my band.” Joplin weaned herself off heroin, but filled the void with even heavier drinking.

During the 4th of July week in 1970, Janis and Full Tilt rode and performed on the Festival Express tour through Canada (other acts included Grateful Dead, Flying Burrito Brothers, The Band, Buddy Guy). She was drunk, but seemed happy. Unfortunately it didn’t last long. Over the course of that summer, Joplin was back on the needle.

In September 1970, she and the band started recording Pearl in Los Angeles with Paul Rothchild (who had previously produced The Doors). Janis Joplin sadly died of an overdose of heroin during the recordings on October 4, 1970. She was 27 years old and was scheduled to add vocals to “Buried Alive In The Blues” the following day.

JanisJoplin.net