Janis Joplin

My legs and back ache from being on the road for so long, but who can complain about having a dream job such as mine? From the time I was little I wanted to work in the music industry, I never would have dreamed that I would have the opportunity to work side-by-side with Janis Joplin! The work is tedious and exhausting and I have been on the road with her for three weeks, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Janis, her band Full Tilt Boogie, and I arrive at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Massachusetts just before 10:00 am. It is August 12th, 1970 (Joplin 2007). I venture to Janis’ trailer to go over details of tonight’s concert. I expect to find her lounging in her typical attire of faded bell-bottoms and flowing tunic top, but I instead find her half dressed, a belt wrapped around her arm and a needle sticking out of her vein. This sight is a frequent one, but it still startles me. I know better than to comment, though, and so I pretend I haven’t seen. 0

She looks a lot older than her 27 years, and her face, badly “scarred by acne and worn by booze” (Stewart 2007), looks even more taught than the last time I looked. She is still as beautiful as ever and I know her voice, forever wrought with emotion and pain, will sound as powerful as ever tonight.

“Let’s talk about this evening’s schedule,” I say, in what (I hope) sounds like a normal voice.

“Sure,” Janis replies.

“You will make your appearance on stage at about 7:00. We are sold out, but it should be a fairly small concert for you, only small portion of the stadium has been roped off for this one” (Stewart 2007).

As we continue discussing details, I can’t help but notice how worn down she seems. What plagues her, I wonder? Though she has told me much of her painful past in Port Arthur, Texas, I find it so hard to believe that she is this fragile. She has such a careless way about her. She is brash, loud, reckless, and uninhibited. She appears to be unfazed by the world around her, and unafraid to slap society in the face. But, I know that real, raw pain exists in her core.

When I listen to her stories about the way that her peers treated her during her youth, I am stunned. It’s not that I am shocked by the way that they treated her (growing up in the 1950’s was hard for anyone who was different). I am more amazed that this woman, who seems so strong, so confident on stage, allowed herself to be taunted. That the cries of whore and pig actually made their mark, that this woman that I idolized so much was scarred for life by the cruelty of confused adolescents. Perhaps it is this overwhelming desire for acknowledgement that drives her to be so passionate about equality and acceptance (Draper and Marshall 1992).

“Let’s go over the set list.” I go on with the usual pre-concert chatter, though I am preoccupied by my thoughts about Pearl’s (as she is known to those close to her) downward spiral (Rock and Roll 2007).

“Alright. I’m opening with ‘Kozmic Blues,’ right?”

When we are through, the set list is bound to make this one of her best concerts. I turn over the following list to John Till, Full Tilt Boogie’s guitarist:

‘Kozmic Blues’ ‘Cry Baby’ ‘A Woman Left Lonely’

‘Get it While You Can’ ‘My Baby’ ‘Get it While You Can’

‘Move Over’ ‘Trust Me’ ‘Buried Alive in the Blues’

‘Half Moon’ ‘Tell Mama’ ‘Try Just a Little Bit Harder’

Encore: ‘Ball and Chain’ ‘Mercedes Benz’ ‘Me and Bobby McGee’

It is a humid evening as I stand backstage in the stadium, listening to the opening cords of ‘Kozmic Blues.’ Over 40,000 fans have shown up to this concert, even though there were only 10,000 available tickets (Stewart 2007). They are climbing over walls, flooding through the doors, etc. It is beyond anyone’s control at this point, but I smile because I know that this is how she wants it.

The noise is deafening and the smell of sweat, booze and pot is palpable, but when she opens her mouth to sing,