Janis Joplin Biography

Superior Essays
Show More
My decision to read Alice Echol’s “Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin” was sparked by my interest in the 27 Club. The 27 Club refers to a number of popular musicians who died at the age of 27, often as a result of drug or alcohol abuse. Janis Joplin is the first of three members of the 27 Club that I am going to write my life studies on. Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 60’s as the lead singer of the psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. Janis grew up in a small reserved town where she knew she didn’t belong, this biography shows her defiance to break free from the social norm. Janis was characterized as a “misfit” with her tomboy charm and charisma. With her free spirit and risqué outfit choices Janis Joplin dared …show more content…
Society today places such high standards on girls and what is expected. Janis Joplin just wanted attention after all those years of being ignored. Her ballsy chick impersonation earned her a lot of attention, even if it was negative. Before she became addicted to drugs and alcohol Janis could have been viewed as a role model for girls in the fifties to defy the standards of society. I believe Janis Joplin stood for feminism which could be directly related to today’s society and how feminism is perceived in the minds of women today. Janis was ambitious which helped her rise above the ignorance of the people in Port Arthur. When she got a taste of the real world and the music business it all became too much for her. Everything Janis had set out to achieve was now being set back. Janis Joplin died at the young age of 27, but during her life she was able to overcome adversity and make something of herself whether you think in a negative or positive way. In the end the “pig” from Port Arthur became rock’s first female

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie's Transformation
    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie's Transformation

    Although her marriage to Logan Killicks was short, this relationship still shaped her character in many ways. When she first marries him, she is catapulted into adulthood and womanhood and soon realizes that she cannot “grow” to love someone who she is forced to marry, and she will only end up resenting that person. After leaving him, she gains a new sense of independence, something that has always been in her nature, by abandoning an absolute chance at security. She also loses the desire to make others happy and forms a new wish to find love no matter the cost. Her relationship with Joe Starks was the longest and because of this, one of the biggest contributors to who Janie is at the beginning/end of the novel.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Ella Mae Johnson Research Paper
    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ella Mae Johnson Research Paper

    Ella Mae Johnson, daughter of Marney and Bill Johnson, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on May 18, 2004. Ella has two younger siblings: Moira, her sister, is thirty-nine years old, and Jack, her brother, is almost thirty-seven years old. When she was younger, Ella Mae Johnson went to about five different schools: The Farm in Washington state, Navy Hale Kekeikie in Hawaii, Breidablik in Washington state, Suquamish in Washington state, and White Oaks in Virginia. Ms. Kragen, one of Ella's teachers, has highly influenced her. Ella did not like history until she had Ms. Kragen.…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Patsy Cline Research Paper Outline
    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Patsy Cline Research Paper Outline

    Do you like music? How about country music? Patsy Cline was a country singer whom loved the stage and loved to perform. Patsy Cline was a talented and gifted singer who had a bad start, but went into a good career to a tragic death, but she still has music that people listen to and enjoy.…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Janie's Marriage To Joe Starks
    • 239 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Janie's Marriage To Joe Starks

    Janie’s marriage to Joe Starks is clearly unsuccessful because she is second in his life. In addition, Joe even downgraded his wife for being asked to make a speech, when he responded for her, “Thank you fuh yo’ compliments but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat” (Hurston 43). As a result of this, Janie was pushed farther out of the social circles.…

    • 239 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    How Did Bessie Smith Influence Society
    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Did Bessie Smith Influence Society

    During the career of Ma Rainey there was another woman who was having a good time in her music life. Her name is Bessie Smith, she had very humble beginning. Source 4 says “In childhood she danced on street corners for coins to help her family”. That was her beginning as an artist, even though she did did not have something similar to a big debut in a important place, she started from the bottom and continued going to the top. Bessie Smith was influenced by Ma Rainey a very important woman of the Blues style.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Elton John Research Paper
    • 1498 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Elton John Research Paper

    Music and society have a large impact on each other, and how they shape the way people view and act in the world. There are four themes that identify and characterize how music has evolved over the past one hundred years. These themes also show how music affects and expresses the culture that not only we live in today, but also how we have changed in our views on numerous aspects of today’s society. The four themes that are explored directly with a specific artist and, or, band are how they impact society, politics, and several cultural issues that have stood the test of time and the way race, class, and gender are expressed in music. The development of the music industry and the technology used in it are widely affected by the change in music over decades, but also by outstanding individuals during their careers, which span over a variable amount of time.…

    • 1498 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    African Americans In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The New Negro
    • 2263 Words
    • 10 Pages

    African Americans In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The New Negro

    The period between 1920 and 1929 was known as the Jazz Age, a term coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This was a period of great change for the world as a whole but specifically for Women, Blacks and The Arts. Women, in general, were disenfranchised with the old Victorian ways and the roaring twenties were a liberating period for them. However, this liberation did not extend to all branches of ‘woman-kind’, specifically Black women. Black people faced a great deal of challenging circumstances; most of which were incumbent upon the Black woman to bear in solidarity.…

    • 2263 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    How Did Billie Holiday Affect Society
    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Did Billie Holiday Affect Society

    One of the first popular singer, a prostitute, and persecuted, Billie Holiday spend her life batting abuse, addiction and racial discrimination. Billie was an iconic figure living ahead of her time. On a time of segregation, when expressing your opinion could cost your life, she was fearless. Billie Holiday was a fighter, a female that will revolution music and will make an unforgettable contribution to music and society. Eleanora Harris, famously known as Billie Holiday, was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Bessie Smith: 'Empress Of The Blues'
    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Bessie Smith: 'Empress Of The Blues'

    Smith was born April 15, 1894, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was an independent African-American woman who was born into a large and poor family. She was one of eight children. At a young age, both her parents and her two brothers passed away. Bessie started singing and dancing on the street with her brother which helped her poor family financially.…

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Living In Joplin
    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Living In Joplin

    In one’s younger growing years, Joplin is a wonderful place to live. Living in Joplin can seem like a curse to some, but for me it’s a blessing in disguise. Joplin has plenty of great restaurants, a mall, and plenty of potential of growth. Working at a car dealership gives one plenty of valuable experiences that one can use in any career setting. One reason I live in Joplin is because of my current job and future career.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Four Women By Nina Simone
    • 1371 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Analysis Of Four Women By Nina Simone

    Black womanhood continues to be as important as feminism. Black women have been treated wrong for some time now, they have been raped, beaten on, barely able to work, but still manages to be just as resilient as everyone else. Women, in general, are not being treated as an equal, but for a black woman it is even worse. Maya Angelou once said “as far as I knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, Black men desired them and Black women worked for them.”…

    • 1371 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    The Life Of Billie Jean King
    • 143 Words
    • 1 Pages

    The Life Of Billie Jean King

    Tennis was a major part of Billie Jean King's life. She played a lot of tennis as a child. She was coached by Alice Marble (a famous player from the 1930’s) at the age 15.Later on she played Played pro tennis. She did this for 12 years. Although she did technically play for 18 because 2 years later she came back and played 4 more years.…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of No Doubt's Just A Girl
    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of No Doubt's Just A Girl

    She's commentating on the lack of rights women have traditionally had, and that despite the fact that we do now have "equal" rights, society still treats women as fragile, pretty creatures instead of as human citizens and people, and asserts that there are things we shouldn't be doing, be allowed to do, or are too weak to…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Orientation By Daniel Orzco Analysis
    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Orientation By Daniel Orzco Analysis

    As the story continues, it seems as if there is another struggle for this girl. The struggle often unseen to the rest of the male driven public. The struggle of being a girl or a woman. This is a struggle many can’t comment on because they haven’t lived it, but Kincaid has. One of the more attention-grabbing lines, “On Sundays walk like a lady and not the slut you are so bent on becoming” let’s one know that there is something inside of a woman that she fights every day.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Gender Roles In The Company Of Wolf
    • 1903 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Gender Roles In The Company Of Wolf

    Some elements, like the girl 's memories of her mother 's fearless life, and her love for music, give her the strength to be brave and resist, but at other times she falters and falls back into victimhood. Thus, as Manley concludes, the protagonist “does not move in a straight line toward changing her passive behavior but rather gains ground, loses it, and then gains it again.” (87) This is only one example of Carter 's complex characterization of female characters and her exploration of women 's life inside the constraints of a patriarchal society. Her revaluation of gender roles is not idealised, it stays close to the historical realities of the times her tales are set in.…

    • 1903 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings