![]() ![]() “It was a formal event and it was an awkward fit!” recalls her 72-year-old sister, Laura, laughing. But before that, there was that detour back to Port Arthur, the small, conservative Texan community in which, as a beatnik-channelling teen rebel, she’d never felt at home. Later that summer of 1970, Joplin would begin work on her second solo album, Pearl, which would feature some of her best-known songs, including her cover of 1963 R&B track Cry Baby and her own (co-written) Mercedes Benz. As The Washington Post wrote in April 1968 of her stage persona: “She screams, she stomps, she jumps, she quivers, she flails her arms, she flings her great wild mane like an unbroken pony.” But even Janis on an off-night was incredible.” As The Who’s Pete Townsend wrote in his memoir, Who I Am: “She had been amazing at Monterey, but tonight she wasn ’t at her best, due, probably, to the long delay, and probably, too, to the amount of booze and heroin she ’d consumed while she waited. The previous summer Joplin had been one of the star performers at Woodstock, managing to cut through the stoned fug and 2am start time with an earth-shaking performance. Her incredible blues range saw her credited as having “The Voice of a Lady Leadbelly”, as the New York Free Press headlined a February 1968 profile. An incendiary performer on- and off-stage, she was a hippie style icon and feminist trailblazer who’d made her name on the San Francisco scene as frontwoman with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Joplin rocked up in hippie flares, a scoop-necked T-shirt, a feather boa that she wore as a hat, and her trademark round, colour-tinted sunglasses.Īt the time, the 27-year-old singer and songwriter was one of the biggest counter-cultural forces in America. Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, Texas, was holding a 10-year reunion. ![]() Thank you to our generous sponsor, Peoria Chiropractic.On August 14 1970, Janis Joplin went home. Join us Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23 at 7:30 pm. Lora Stone as Laura Joplin, Jared Coker as Michael Joplin, and Richard Diepenbrock on lead guitar – all solid, seasoned performers in their own right - round out the company of this unforgettable performance. Although this is Shannon’s first time on the Peoria Players stage, she is no newcomer to performing, as she is a member of the River City Blues Society. She had that soulful Janis sound, and what was better – she, too, was a fan.” Born in 1969, Shannon was introduced to the music of Janis at an early age by her mother, and she has been a huge fan ever since. ![]() “She sang ‘Me and Bobby McGee.’ Being a huge fan of several of Janis Joplin’s songs, I was hooked. Director Howard Gorman first met Shannon seven years ago in a karaoke bar. ![]() Shannon Johnson stars in this production. Her profound influence on the music world is still heard in many of today’s artists. Janis was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, and she remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States. “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Little Girl Blue,” “Cry Baby” and of course, “Piece of My Heart” are just a few selections you’ll enjoy from her iconic song catalogue. The show, written and conceived by Howard Gorman and Shannon Johnson, will highlight Janis’s life, starting in Port Arthur, Texas to her death in 1970 at the age of 27 years old. This fundraiser for Peoria Players will touch upon just a portion of this artist’s amazing career. This weekend, Peoria Players Theatre will present Remembering Janis Joplin, directed by Howard Gorman. ![]()
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