Janis Joplin: The Original Woman in Rock.

Historically, women in the world of music have been relegated to the ranks of singing ballads and softer songs with sentimental appeal. They were prim and proper, well-manicured dolls with glorious voices and no real outlet for their emotions or thoughts. During the 60's when gender roles and sexual roles were changing, Janis Joplin rode the wave of musical and social turmoil and changed the role of women in popular music forever.

Janis Joplin didn't fit the profile of the typical female performer of the 1960's. She wasn't very attractive; her voice was raspy, not soft; and she was not particularly morally centered of conscious. She was a woman who performed with the same ferocity, soulfulness, and freedom that male performers exhuded; and yet had a sexual or sensual element to her performing style that was feminine in a more modern sense. She was a powerful presence on stage, but at the same time she remained vulnerable and was able to give honestly profound performances as a result.

Janis sang a mixture of country, blues and rock music, following the mood of the musicians and crowd. She was a versatile performer, who was able to cover songs and totally recreate them in her own image. An example of her ability in this area, is her classic cover of George Gershwin's Summertime. Janis's version of this song is a stark contrast to the lightness of the original. There is a haunting, almost dark quality to her version that seems to reflect the events and tragedies of the era during which it was recorded.

It was this empathic ability that allowed Janis to reach out through her music to so many people. It would also cause her to suffer even more deeply from the losses of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. Hendrix and Morrison were more than just musicians to Janis; they were souls with which she felt connected. Many people believed that it was the toll of their deaths that finally broke her heart, and led to her own death. In the end, they all were connected through their deaths, and the loss that the world has felt since then.

Janis Joplin sang the blues and rock with a country feel and gospel soul. She was not simply a female singer, she was a performer. Even more so however, like Jimi Hendrix, she was an experience. Janis was an open channel of pure feeling that streamed across sexual and cultural lines. She performed with all of the bravado of a man, taking what she wanted and openly expressing lustful, sexual, and emotional material. She lived, died, and performed with heart-felt emotion and a voice that held a masculine power with a feminine sensibility.