![]() ![]() She was one of the first women to break into the exclusive boys' club of rock'n'roll, rising from a pimply wallflower to a beloved emblem of hippie rebellion. Her band-mate, Sam Andrew of the "Big Brother and the Holding Co." claims she never did grass or acid Joplin's drug-of-choice was heroin to keep herself going on her self-imposed rigid schedule. Her rise to fame was fast, burning with drugs and alcohol, a workaholic whose friends warned her to slow down. “The audience’s feelings were real important to me for resolving something-I don’t know what,” she said.American singer and rock-star of the hippie years whose style of singing was a cross between blues and larynx-shredding, carefully rehearsed shrieking. Laura hopes the play, which she is working to bring to other cities, will strike the same chord it did with audiences in Denver, who gave every performance a standing ovation. “There were people who are young and hip today bringing their parents, and there were people who went through the ‘60s who would bring their kids or their parents and say, ‘Can’t you see, finally?’ ” “There were a number of families,” she said. Laura enjoyed watching those who attended. Another actress portrayed the private Janis, sometimes scared, sometimes depressed, but always bubbling with intelligence and energy. One sang and performed, portraying the public person. The play served both goals, with Janis played by two actresses. “I wanted people to re-appreciate her music I wanted people to learn something about her as a person.” “People are fans of Janis for various reasons, and for whatever reason, the show brought it back and allowed them to revisit,” Laura said. The play closed at the end of May after five weeks of good reviews and record-breaking attendance. ![]() Once the book was done, Laura pushed to turn it into a play. I had impressions and memories and feelings.” “Initially, I thought, ‘I was there.’ But you don’t remember. “No matter how much research you do, you always want to do more,” she said. When asked about the book project, Laura has one word to sum it up: “Long.” The event drew huge crowds, which came by the busload from as far as Canada to pay tribute to a woman who had nothing nice to say about her hometown when she was alive. It began at a January, 1988, ceremony in Port Arthur to honor local musicians, among them her sister. Her decision to write the book was not a momentous one, Laura recalls. “It was time for me to look back, just like our culture is looking back at the ‘60s,” Laura said. Among them, she said, are feminism and lessons in peace, collective decision-making and education.Īlso far from over is Laura’s need to explore the person behind the legend of Janis Joplin. “We got there and realized there’s a whole new world out there, a new energy,” Laura said.īut far from being over, the “new world” of the ‘60s and many of its lessons are still intact, she believes. ![]() She recalls a trip to California with her family after Janis’ Monterey performance, which had been written up in the national newsmagazines. “People look (at the 1960s) and say, ‘I’m glad that’s over.’ It’s not over,” Laura said. Hendrix died only weeks before Joplin, also of a drug overdose. Since her death, Janis Joplin has become a legend, one of the live-hard, die-young ‘60s rock icons like Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. ![]()
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