Janis Frank Popular Books

Janis Frank Biography & Facts

Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most successful and widely known rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals, as well as her "electric" stage presence.In 1967, Joplin rose to prominence following an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. After releasing two albums with the band, she left Big Brother to continue as a solo artist with her own backing groups, first the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band. She appeared at the 1969 Woodstock festival and on the Festival Express train tour. Five singles by Joplin reached the US Billboard Hot 100, including a cover of the Kris Kristofferson song "Me and Bobby McGee", which posthumously reached number one in March 1971. Her most popular songs include her cover versions of "Piece of My Heart", "Cry Baby", "Down on Me", "Ball and Chain", "Summertime", and her original song "Mercedes Benz", her final recording.Joplin died of a heroin overdose in 1970, at the age of 27, after releasing three albums (two with Big Brother and the Holding Company and one solo album). A second solo album, Pearl, was released in January 1971, three months after her death. It reached number one on the Billboard charts. She was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. NPR dubbed Joplin as "The Queen of Rock" and named her one of the 50 Great Voices. She remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States, with Recording Industry Association of America certifications of 18.5 million albums sold. Early life Janis Lyn Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on (1943-01-19)January 19, 1943, to Dorothy Bonita East (1913–1998), a registrar at a business college, and her husband, Seth Ward Joplin (1910–1987), an engineer at Texaco. She had two younger siblings, Laura and Michael. The family attended First Christian Church of Port Arthur, a church belonging to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination.Her parents felt that Janis needed more attention than their other children. As a teenager, Joplin befriended a group of outcasts, one of whom had albums by blues artists Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Lead Belly, which Joplin later credited with influencing her decision to become a singer. She began singing blues and folk music with friends at Thomas Jefferson High School. In high school, she was a classmate of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson.Joplin stated that she was ostracized and bullied in high school. As a teen, she became overweight and suffered from acne, leaving her with deep scars that required dermabrasion. Other kids at high school would routinely taunt her and call her names like "pig," "freak," "nigger lover," or "creep." She stated, "I was a misfit. I read, I painted, I thought. I didn't hate niggers."Joplin graduated from high school in 1960 and attended Lamar State College of Technology in Beaumont, Texas, during the summer and later the University of Texas at Austin (UT), though she did not complete her college studies. The campus newspaper, The Daily Texan, ran a profile of her in the issue dated July 27, 1962, headlined "She Dares to Be Different." The article began, "She goes barefooted when she feels like it, wears Levi's to class because they're more comfortable, and carries her autoharp with her everywhere she goes so that in case she gets the urge to break into song, it will be handy. Her name is Janis Joplin."While at UT she performed with a folk trio called the Waller Creek Boys and frequently socialized with the staff of the campus humor magazine The Texas Ranger. According to Freak Brothers cartoonist Gilbert Shelton, who befriended her, she used to sell The Texas Ranger, which contained some of Shelton's early comic books, on the campus. Career 1962–1965: Early recordings Joplin cultivated a rebellious manner and styled herself partly after her female blues heroines and partly after the Beat poets. Her first song, "What Good Can Drinkin' Do", was recorded on tape in December 1962 at the home of a fellow University of Texas student.She left Texas in January 1963, "Just to get away," she said, "because my head was in a much different place", hitchhiking with her friend Chet Helms to North Beach, San Francisco. Still in San Francisco in 1964, Joplin and future Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen recorded a number of blues standards, which incidentally featured Kaukonen's wife Margareta using a typewriter in the background. This session included seven tracks: "Typewriter Talk", "Trouble in Mind", "Kansas City Blues", "Hesitation Blues", "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out", "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy", and "Long Black Train Blues", and was released long after Joplin's death as the bootleg album The Typewriter Tape. In 1963, Joplin was arrested in San Francisco for shoplifting. During the two years that followed, her drug use increased and she acquired a reputation as a "speed freak" and occasional heroin user. She also used other psychoactive drugs and was a heavy drinker throughout her career; her favorite alcoholic beverage was Southern Comfort.In May 1965, Joplin's friends in San Francisco, noticing the detrimental effects on her from regularly injecting methamphetamine, she was described as "skeletal" and "emaciated", persuaded her to return to Port Arthur. During that month, her friends threw her a bus-fare party so she could return to her parents in Texas. Five years later, Joplin told Rolling Stone magazine writer David Dalton the following about her first stint in San Francisco: "I didn't have many friends and I didn't like the ones I had."Back in Port Arthur in the spring of 1965, after Joplin's parents noticed her weight of 88 pounds (40 kg), she changed her lifestyle. She avoided drugs and alcohol, adopted a beehive hairdo, and enrolled as an anthropology major at Lamar University in nearby Beaumont, Texas. Her sister Laura said in a 2016 interview that social work was her major during her year at Lamar. During her time at Lamar University, she commuted to Austin to sing solo, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. One of her performances was at a benefit by local musicians for Texas bluesman Mance Lipscomb, who was suffering with ill health. Joplin became engaged to Peter de Blanc in the fall of 1965. She had begun a relationship with him toward the end of her first stint in San Francisco. Now living in New York where he worked with IBM computers, he visited her to ask her father for her hand in marriage. Joplin and her mother began planning the wedding. De Blanc, who traveled frequently, ended the engagement soon afterward.In 1965 and 1966, Jo.... Discover the Janis Frank popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Janis Frank books.

Best Seller Janis Frank Books of 2024

  • Knit a Pair of Flip Mitts and Fingerless Gloves synopsis, comments

    Knit a Pair of Flip Mitts and Fingerless Gloves

    Janis Frank

    Make yourself a nifty pair of flip mitts. They're hip, trendy and handier than a pocket on a shirt! Not only can you make these super awesome mitts for just about anyone from teen ...

  • Knitted Cable Owl Slippers synopsis, comments

    Knitted Cable Owl Slippers

    Janis Frank

    Awesome cozy slippers with a delightful cable owl motif. The inspiration came to me while scrolling through the wonders of the internet and stumbling on slippers that were made in ...

  • Nearly Seamless Cuffed Bootie Slippers for Adults synopsis, comments

    Nearly Seamless Cuffed Bootie Slippers for Adults

    Janis Frank

    This knitted slipper pattern makes for a quick to knit, extra thick slipper with minimal seams. The top is joined to the sole as you knit the sole of the slipper.This is not a patt...

  • Knit a Pair of Texting Mitts synopsis, comments

    Knit a Pair of Texting Mitts

    Janis Frank

    Improve your texting in cold climates with these thumbless mittens. More than just a pair of fingerless gloves, these keep your hands warm and only expose your thumbs when needed. ...

  • How to Knit Sheep Slippers synopsis, comments

    How to Knit Sheep Slippers

    Janis Frank

    This is a basic howto on making adult sized sheep slippers. It's recommended that you have some knitting experience and that you know how to knit socks on double pointed needles. T...

  • Easy to Knit Bow Slippers synopsis, comments

    Easy to Knit Bow Slippers

    Janis Frank

    Hand knit slippers are wonderful, but it's nice to be able to make a fancier pair, especially if you are making them as a gift. This pattern shows you how to make slippers for girl...

  • Crocheted Waves Bracelet synopsis, comments

    Crocheted Waves Bracelet

    Janis Frank

    Looking for something unique to crochet? Look no further! I have a thing for bracelets (and slippers, but that's another story) and this is one of my most favourite things to croch...

  • Fun and Easy Knitted Monster Purse synopsis, comments

    Fun and Easy Knitted Monster Purse

    Janis Frank

    Make your own conversation piece when you knit this funky and original monster purse. Think a monster purse is a “bit much”? You can use the same design without the eyes and append...

  • Crocheted Skull Dishcloth synopsis, comments

    Crocheted Skull Dishcloth

    Janis Frank

    Ahoy yea salty dogs (and rock stars)! Tired of boring, run of the mill dishcloths when you're doing the dishes? Why have a normal dishcloth when you can have the coolest dishcloth ...

  • Eight Slipper Styles to Knit synopsis, comments

    Eight Slipper Styles to Knit

    Janis Frank

    Knit eight different styles of slippers with this collection of patterns. Patterns range from beginner to difficult and include links to online video tutorials.Also includes links ...

  • Knitted Adult Booties synopsis, comments

    Knitted Adult Booties

    Janis Frank

    Using basic stitches and common techniques, the final product makes a comfortable slipper with a longer cuff ensuring that they will stay snuggly on your feet. There is now a compa...

  • Crocheted Fans Bracelet synopsis, comments

    Crocheted Fans Bracelet

    Janis Frank

    The third in my series of crocheted bracelets. This is a fairly simple bracelet to make and doesn't involve any complicated or unusual stitches. If you have successfully completed ...

  • Crochet Flower and Friendship Bracelet synopsis, comments

    Crochet Flower and Friendship Bracelet

    Janis Frank

    Back on the bracelet train! This time it's for a beautiful flower that you can wear on your wrist. You'll enjoy making these. It's fun to see how the flower will turn out based on ...

  • Spider Fingerless Gloves synopsis, comments

    Spider Fingerless Gloves

    Janis Frank

    Knit flat on 2 needles with regular worsted weight yarn with single pointed knitting needles, any knitter with some basic knitting knowledge can knit up a pair! Don’t know how to m...

  • Knitted Adult Slippers with a Plaid Pattern synopsis, comments

    Knitted Adult Slippers with a Plaid Pattern

    Janis Frank

    A great knitting pattern for beginners and experts alike! The stitches and techniques used to make these simple looking slippers are very basic. As long as you can cast on, knit, p...

  • Cable Knit Slippers synopsis, comments

    Cable Knit Slippers

    Janis Frank

    Learn to knit comfy, cozy cabled slippers. This pattern shows you how to make slippers for children from a small size 3 to a large 3, and a woman's and man's size 4 to 12. This mak...

  • Snug Slip-On Knit Slippers synopsis, comments

    Snug Slip-On Knit Slippers

    Janis Frank

    This is a great pattern for anyone who has limited knitting experience. If you know how to purl, knit, K2tog, M1 and Cast on, this pattern should be no problem. If you have any iss...

  • Easy to Knit Slippers synopsis, comments

    Easy to Knit Slippers

    Janis Frank

    This is a great novice knitting project because it only uses basic stitches that are very easy master. This is also a great project for experienced knitters because these slippers ...

  • How to Knit Fingerless Gloves synopsis, comments

    How to Knit Fingerless Gloves

    Janis Frank

    This is the simplified version of my very popular Knitted Owl Fingerless Gloves pattern. I realized that not everyone may want owls on their gloves. Also, that they may want a thin...

  • Two Slippers with One Pattern synopsis, comments

    Two Slippers with One Pattern

    Janis Frank

    These two slipper styles are actually the same pattern but showcase one side of the work or the other. They are easily made with the same basic knitting stitches and if you can mak...

  • Jimi and Me synopsis, comments

    Jimi and Me

    Jonathan Stathakis & Chris Epting

    A young screenwriter is invited to collaborate with Jimi Hendrix on a film, resulting in the wildest eighteen months of his life and coinciding with the tumultuous final months of ...

  • How to Knit Slippers synopsis, comments

    How to Knit Slippers

    Janis Frank

    One of the most practical and easy things to knit are slippers. This is a great pattern to practice if you are a new knitter as it only uses very basic stitches. With this pattern,...

  • Easy to Crochet Sun and Bucket Hat synopsis, comments

    Easy to Crochet Sun and Bucket Hat

    Janis Frank

    Gussy it up or wear it plain, this crocheted hat pattern is extremely versatile, letting you make hats to suit nearly everyone.Using either Super Bulky yarn or 2 strands of Worsted...

  • Simple to Knit Ribbed Bootie Slippers synopsis, comments

    Simple to Knit Ribbed Bootie Slippers

    Janis Frank

    After a bit of a slipper hiatus, I'm back! And after a lot of internal debate, I decided to make this pattern FREE! It just seemed like the right thing to do. I hope you enjoy it.I...

  • How to Knit Slippers Just like Granny Made synopsis, comments

    How to Knit Slippers Just like Granny Made

    Janis Frank

    One of my favourite things to knit...slippers just like Grandma used to make. This pattern includes instructions to make slippers that will fit adults from a woman's size 712 and a...

  • Crocheted Ribbed Slippers synopsis, comments

    Crocheted Ribbed Slippers

    Janis Frank

    There is a certain charm to handmade slippers. Whether they be knitted or crocheted, it is always nice to be able to give someone a handmade gift, even if that gift is for yourself...

  • Beads and Ladders Crochet Bracelet synopsis, comments

    Beads and Ladders Crochet Bracelet

    Janis Frank

    Many people think that crocheting is limited to the humble afghan. No way I say! Anyone can use crocheting to create nearly anything you want, including jewelry. With this pattern,...

  • Hipster Wine Cozy synopsis, comments

    Hipster Wine Cozy

    Janis Frank

    What every overly pretentious bottle of wine needs – a hipster sweater! Dress up that cheap bottle of wine for your next hoitytoity dinner party. I'm nearly certain no one will not...

  • Spider Fingerless Gloves synopsis, comments

    Spider Fingerless Gloves

    Janis Frank

    Knit flat on 2 needles with regular worsted weight yarn with single pointed knitting needles, any knitter with some basic knitting knowledge can knit up a pair! Think you may have ...