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 (film) that no one who worked on the film communicated to viewers that she is dead. This film remains a major source of footage for basic and premium cable TV documentaries about Joplin -- projects that do include narration and sound bite interviews with those who knew Joplin. When documentaries include film clips of Joplin at her 1970 high school reunion, the 1974 documentary "Janis" is the source. Color film of an eloquent interview with Joplin in London in 1969 (outdoors with the sounds of car engines) also originates from "Janis". That interview was done very shortly before or after concerts