Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer. One of the most successful and widely known rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage presence.
"St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American blues song and jazz standard of uncertain origin. Louis Armstrong made the song famous in his 1928 recording on which Don Redman was credited as composer; later releases gave the name Joe Primrose, a pseudonym of Irving Mills. The melody is eight bars long, unlike songs in the classic blues genre, where there are 12 bars. It is in a minor key, and has a 4
4 time signature, but has also been played in 3
4.
Willie Mae Thornton, better known as Big Mama Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", in 1952, which was written for her and became her biggest hit, staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1953. According to Maureen Mahon, a music professor at New York University, "the song is seen as an important beginning of rock-and-roll, especially in its use of the guitar as the key instrument".
"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin topped the U.S. singles chart in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Gordon Lightfoot released a version that reached number 1 on the Canadian country charts in 1970. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that was number 1 on the country charts in December 1971/January 1972 as the "B" side of "Would You Take Another Chance On Me." Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.
Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After some initial personnel changes, the band became well known with the lineup of vocalist Janis Joplin, guitarists Sam Andrew and James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin, and drummer Dave Getz. Their second album Cheap Thrills, released in 1968, is considered one of the masterpieces of the psychedelic sound of San Francisco; it reached number one on the Billboard charts, and was ranked number 338 in Rolling Stone's the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
"Mercedes Benz" is an a cappella song written by the American singer Janis Joplin with Bob Neuwirth and the poet Michael McClure. The song was originally recorded by Joplin. A straightforward reading of the song lyrics indicate that the song is about the desire for possessions and pleasure, but at least one writer considers it to be a rejection of consumerism.
"Midnight Special" is a traditional folk song thought to have originated among prisoners in the American South. The song refers to the passenger train Midnight Special and its "ever-loving light".
"Cocaine Blues" is a Western swing song written by Troy Junius Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song "Little Sadie." Roy Hogsed recorded a well known version of the song in 1944.
"In My Time of Dying" is a gospel music song by Blind Willie Johnson. The title line, closing each stanza of the song, refers to a deathbed and was inspired by a passage in the Bible from Psalms 41:3 "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing, thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness". Numerous artists have recorded variations, including Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin.
"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual song which was likely derived from the oral tradition, but was originally published by John Wesley Work Jr., although there is some debate whether he was actually the first to write it. This spiritual has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers since considered a Christmas carol as its original lyrics celebrate the Nativity of Jesus:
Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere;
go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.
"Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" is a traditional African-American spiritual first noted during the American Civil War at St. Helena Island, one of the Sea Islands of South Carolina. The best-known recording was released in 1960 by the U.S. folk band The Highwaymen; that version briefly reached number-one hit status as a single.
"Wade in the Water" is an African American jubilee song, a spiritual—in reference to a genre of music "created and first sung by African Americans in slavery." The lyrics to "Wade in the Water" were first co-published in 1901 in New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers by Frederick J. Work and his brother, John Wesley Work Jr., an educator at the historically black college in Nashville, Tennessee, Fisk University. Work Jr. (1871–1925)—who is also known as John Work II—spent thirty years collecting, promoting, and reviving the songcraft of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, which included being a member and director of the Fisk Jubilee Quartet. The Sunset Four Jubilee Singers made the first commercial recording of "Wade in the Water" in 1925—released by Paramount Records. W. E. B. Du Bois called this genre of songs the Sorrow Songs. "Wade in the Water" is associated with songs of the Underground Railroad.
"Cowgirl in the Sand" is a song written by Neil Young and first released on his 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young has included live versions of the song on several albums and on the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young album 4 Way Street. It has also been covered by The Byrds on their self-titled album. Like three other songs from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, "Cinnamon Girl", "Down by the River" and the title track, Young wrote "Cowgirl in the Sand" while he was suffering from the flu with a high fever at his home in Topanga, California.
"Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" is a folk song that became influential during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on the traditional song, "Gospel Plow," also known as "Hold On," "Keep Your Hand on the Plow," and various permutations thereof.
"Gospel Plow" is a traditional African American spiritual. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index, number 10075. The title is biblical, based on Luke 9:62.
Janis is a compilation album by Janis Joplin, released in 1993. The album features a broad overview of her career from her very first recording in December 1962, to the last songs she recorded during the sessions for Pearl just a few days before her death in October 1970.
"Green Grass and High Tides" is a song by American Southern rock band Outlaws. It is the tenth and final track on the band's debut album, Outlaws. The song is one of their best known, and has received extensive play on album-oriented radio stations, although it was never released as a single. The song is notable for having two extended guitar solos that stretch the song to nearly 10 minutes.
"Down by the Riverside" is an African-American spiritual. Its roots date back to before the American Civil War, though it was first published in 1918 in Plantation Melodies: A Collection of Modern, Popular and Old-time Negro-Songs of the Southland, Chicago, the Rodeheaver Company. The song has alternatively been known as "Ain' go'n' to study war no mo'", "Ain't Gwine to Study War No More", "Down by de Ribberside", "Going to Pull My War-Clothes" and "Study war no more". The song was first recorded by the Fisk University jubilee quartet in 1920, and there are at least 14 black gospel recordings before World War II.
"Rock and Roll Heaven" is a song written by Alan O'Day and Johnny Stevenson, popularized by The Righteous Brothers. It is a paean to several deceased singers such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, and has been rewritten a number of times to include other singers. The song was first recorded by the band Climax in 1973, but it failed to chart. It was then covered by The Righteous Brothers in 1974 and reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
"Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" is a freedom song based on the spiritual "Don't You Let Nobody Turn You Round" and became an American civil rights era anthem. It was sung during demonstrations for civil rights in the United States including during the Memphis sanitation worker strike in 1967. The song's lyrics are adaptable to situations and locations.
