Janis Joplin was born at St. Mary Hospital in Port Arthur, Texas. She was a daughter of Seth Joplin and had younger brother Michael and sister Laura. When she attended Thomas Jefferson High School, Joplin sang in the local choir and become interested in blues and folk music and started to listen such blues musicians as Bessie Smith, Odetta, and Big Mama Thornton. In 1960 she graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and was admitted to college at the University of Texas in Austin. However, she never obtained a degree. In 1963, Janis Joplin left Texas for San Francisco. She experimented with drugs before but after moving to Texas, her drug use became more frequent. She was known as a "speed freak", occasionally she also used heroin and other intoxicants. Besides, she was also a heavy drinker. In 1966, she joined Big Brother and The Holding Company, a band that was becoming popular among the hippie community. The first album she recorded with the band was unsuccessful. When she split with Big Brother and The Holding Company, she formed her own band called Kozmic Blues Band. She also recorded an album with The Doors.
Janis Joplin died from an overdose of heroin and alcohol at the age of 27, on October 4, 1970. Her body was cremated in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California, and her ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.
