This story in the Chronicle's Sunday Zest magazine on Aug. 23, 1970. Excerpts of the story, as it ran then, follow. Janis Joplin, the celebrated demigoddess of blue-eyed soul, the heiress to the ...

It's 50 years since Janis Joplin died of an overdose in Los Angeles aged only 27. Her sad death is the one main fact many people know about her - but for true fans she remains the best female rock ...

Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” with songwriter Kye Fleming, inspired by a restaurant owner they were friends with named Mary, who felt that she had not contributed anything to the world. They ...

Janis Ian circa 1970s (left) and in 2023. Singer-songwriter Janis Ian had a Top 20 hit at age 16 with her 1966 debut single "Society's Child" The song, written from the point of view of a young girl ...

Janis Joplin was close to completing Pearl on Oct. 1, 1970, when she did an a cappella take on "Mercedes Benz." This impromptu performance of a song questioning whether material things can bring ...

1. Before she became famous, Janis once walked up to Bob Dylan and told him she was going to be famous one day. He responded, “Yeah, we all gonna be famous.” 2. She wasn’t afraid to admit that she ...

More than 50 years later, the legend of the Monterey Pop Festival (June ’67) is alive and well. Considering the three-day event jumpstarted the careers of Jimi Hendrix (recommended by Paul McCartney), ...

The countercultural revolution of the 1960s may have been all about sex drugs and rock 'n' roll, but for one young Texas singer it was all about the blues. No one sang the blues quite like Janis ...

Over the past four decades, the voice of Janis Siegel, a nine-time Grammy winner and a seventeen-time Grammy nominee, has been an undeniable force in The Manhattan Transfer’s diverse musical catalog.