Janis Joplin 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 a heroin overdose at the age of 27. A fourth album, "Pearl", was released in January 1971, just over three months after her death. It reached number one on the "Billboard" charts. In 1967, Joplin rose to fame during an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of the then
Janis Joplin like a carefree, happy, healthy young couple having a tremendously good time." "Rolling Stone" magazine interviewed Joplin during an international phone call, quoting her: "I'm going into the jungle with a big bear of a beatnik named David Niehaus. I finally remembered I don't have to be on stage twelve months a year. I've decided to go and dig some other jungles for a couple of weeks." Amburn added in 1992, "Janis was trying to kick heroin in Brazil, and one of the nicest things about David was that he wasn't into drugs." When Joplin returned to the U.S., she