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 (from July 1970 until her death, at which time they were allegedly engaged). She also had relationships with women. During her first stint in San Francisco in 1963, Joplin met and briefly lived with a woman named Jae Whitaker, an African American woman whom she had met while playing pool at Gino & Carlo bar in North Beach. Whitaker broke off their relationship because of Joplin's hard drug use and sexual relationships with other people. Whitaker was first identified by name in connection with Joplin in 1999, when Alice Echols' biography "Scars of Sweet Paradise" was published. Joplin also had