1970-10-04

On this date JANIS JOPLIN, American singer died (b. 1943) influential singer, songwriter, and music arranger. She grew up in a conservative Port Arthur, Texas, and it was because of her talent for singing the blues standards that she rose to fame in the 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and eventually a solo career before her death from a drug overdose. She was one of the most popular and influential singers of the sixties and is considered to be one of the greatest female rockers of all time. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Joplin #46 on their list of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time.