Janis Joplin Issue #36

Pearl (Columbia, Legacy, Sony)

By K Tighe
Published: August 1st, 2008 | 10:45am

When legendary concert promoter Chet Helms plucked Texas-born singer-songwriter Janis Joplin from obscurity in 1966, he altered the future of popular music. But it wasn't until after the singer split from Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1968, that her real work began. After a short stint with the Kozmic Blues Band, Joplin settled into her role as a band leader — at the time a rarity for women in rocknroll — with Full Tilt Boogie. The group set about recording Pearl with the Doors producer Paul Rothchild in the summer of 1970. Joplin would be found dead in her motel room just four weeks later.

Released four months after her sudden death—at age 27 from an apparent heroin overdose — Pearl was exactly as the artist intended. Every vocal track was recorded before her overdose, save for "Buried Alive in the Blues," which the band elected to keep instrumental — not that they could have found an adequate stand-in. From the tortured strains of "Cry Baby" to the funky swagger of "Move Over," the snarky a capella commentary of "Mercedes Benz" to the electrified blues cautionary take, "A Woman Left Lonely," Joplin fully unleashed her powerful voice for the first time in her career — giving everything she had to what would become one of the most seminal albums of the time.

Pearl stayed on the Billboard album chart for 42 weeks, holding the number one spot for nine of 'em, but its true influence is painted all over the landscape of every blues, funk, rock, punk, and country band to follow. Joplin's fingerprints are all over rock 'n' roll today — but to experience that powerhouse essence incarnate, one need only look to these commanding vocalists:

Chan Marshall of Cat Power
Aside from wrestling with similar personal demons, Chan Marshall's sultry swagger follows the rock-rooted, bluesy tradition that Joplin founded; indeed, the songs of Cat Power also seems to subscribe to Joplin's "emotional hemorrhage" school of music-making. Marshall paid proper tribute to her inspiration by covering Pearl’s "A Woman Left Lonely" on Jukebox.

Kristin Gundred of Grand Ole Party
From behind the drum kit of the gypsy-tinged San Diego rock trio, Grand Ole Party, Kristin Gundred's primal howls unfurl with reckless abandon. Not only does the GOP vocalist effectively bring the funk, but as was the case with Joplin's electrifying live performances, Gundred's captivating presence demands center stage — and gets it every time.

Beth Ditto of the Gossip
The spirit of Janis Joplin is alive and doing well in the authoritative wails emanating from Gossip front woman, Beth Ditto. But those soulful yelps aren't the only thing these southern girls have in common; Ditto, like Joplin before her, unapologetically marches against the status quo—"industry standard" be damned.