Janis Lyn Joplin (1/19/43 – 10/4/70), was born to a middle-class family in Port Arthur, Texas. As a teen, she became friends with other teens who were outsiders. One introduced her to the blues.

At Thomas Jefferson High School, she painted, read, socialized with blacks, and sang blues and folk songs with other students. She gained weight, had serious acne, and was taunted by other students, who called her vile names and ostracized her for not being a racist.

Before graduation, she left UT and joined an obscure San Francisco psychedelic rock band, “Big Brother and the Holding Company”, as lead singer. The group wowed the crowd at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and Ms. Joplin recorded two successful albums with BB&HC. Leaving BB&HC, she was backed by her own "Kozmic Blues Band" and then the "Full Tilt Boogie Band". She sang at the famous Woodstock festival and on the "Festival Express" train tour.

Five of Ms. Joplin’s singles made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, with her cover of “Me and Bobby McGee” number one. Her fourth and final album, “Pearl”, also was a Billboard number one hit. She belongs to the Rock and Roll hall of Fame and the Recording Association of America has certified 15.5 million sales of her albums in the United States.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org