Janis Joplin as solo albums. Previously unreleased studio and live material, including early performances as well as Joplin's greatest hits, have been released on several posthumous compilations. Some of Joplin's live concerts with Big Brother were professionally recorded and have been released on albums like "Live at Winterland '68" and "Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968". Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970), nicknamed "Pearl", was an American rock, soul and blues singer and songwriter, and one of the most successful and widely known female rock stars of her era. After releasing three albums, she died of
Janis Joplin America certifications of 15.5 million albums sold. Janis Lyn Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on , to Dorothy Bonita East (1913–1998), a registrar at a business college, and her husband, Seth Ward Joplin (1910–1987), an engineer at Texaco. She had two younger siblings, Michael and Laura. The family belonged to the Churches of Christ denomination. Her parents felt that Janis needed more attention than their other children. As a teenager, Joplin befriended a group of outcasts, one of whom had albums by blues artists Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Lead Belly, whom Joplin later credited with influencing her