On This Day, October 4, 1970…
Legendary blues-rock singer Janis Joplin was found dead in her room at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Los Angeles. She was only 27. She passed away from a heroin overdose.
Joplin had gained fame as one of the most electrifying performers of her era, thanks to appearances at the Monterey Pop Festival as lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist at Woodstock.
She died during the recording of her second solo album, Pearl, which was released after her death and spent nine weeks at #1. It included a cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee,” which became her only #1 hit.
Other well-known Joplin tunes include covers of “Piece of My Heart” and “Cry Baby” as well as her original tune “Mercedes Benz,” which was her final recording.
Joplin was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
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