Janis Joplin were scattered from a plane into the Pacific Ocean. Joplin's death in October 1970 at age 27 stunned her fans and shocked the music world, especially when coupled with the death just 16 days earlier of another rock icon, Jimi Hendrix, also at age 27. (This would later cause some people to attribute significance to the death of musicians at the age of 27, as celebrated in the notional '27 Club'.) Music historian Tom Moon wrote that Joplin had "a devastatingly original voice", music columnist Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" wrote that Joplin as an artist was "overpowering
Steve Paul Texas to successfully promote his managerial abilities to Winter, after reading a "Rolling Stone" review of Texas music by Larry Sepulvado, in which Winter was described as "the hottest item outside of Janis Joplin". Based on Paul's negotiating abilities, Winter shortly thereafter in 1968 signed the then-largest recording contract ever offered by Columbia Records: $600,000, payable over five years. Winter performed regularly at Steve Paul's New York club, The Scene, where various artists, such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, would make guest appearances. Many of these performances were of historic significance, such as the performance by Jimi