"Mary Jane" is a blues song by Janis Joplin.
The song has five verses; the first includes the line "When I bring home my hard-earned pay, I spend my money all on Mary Jane".
A live performance of the song, recorded in San Francisco 1965 with the Dick Oxtot Jazz Band, is on the 1975 compilation album Janis. [1] The song is also included on the 2007 compilation The Very Best Of Janis Joplin. [2]
The song is often incorrectly attributed to Bessie Smith. [3]
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most successful and widely known rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals, as well as her "electric" stage presence.
Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B.
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 listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Odetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, she influenced many of the key figures of the folk-revival of that time, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, and Janis Joplin. In 2011 Time magazine included her recording of "Take This Hammer" on its list of the 100 Greatest Popular Songs, stating that "Rosa Parks was her No. 1 fan, and Martin Luther King Jr. called her the queen of American folk music."
Cheap Thrills is the second studio album by American rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, issued by Columbia Records in 1968. Cheap Thrills was the band's final album with lead singer Janis Joplin before she left to begin a solo career. For Cheap Thrills, the band and producer John Simon incorporated recordings of crowd noises to give the impression of a live album, for which it was subsequently mistaken by many listeners. Only "Ball and Chain" was actually recorded in concert at the Winterland Ballroom.
"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.
"Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart in the United States.
Love, Janis is the musical stage show about the life and music of rock and roll singer Janis Joplin, conceived, adapted and directed by Randal Myler. It debuted Off-Broadway in 2001 at the Village Theater with musical direction by former Big Brother And The Holding Company band member Sam Andrew. The show had a long and healthy run, garnering over 700 performances.
Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy was an American songwriter and record producer.
Janis is a collection of performances by Janis Joplin, issued in 1975 as a compilation album containing film soundtrack and live recordings. Disc one is subtitled "From the soundtrack of the motion picture Janis ". In addition to concert recordings from Toronto and Frankfurt, there are several short TV-interviews. Disc two contains recordings from Austin, Texas, plus four recordings from San Francisco (1965). The album booklet contains a photo documentary, with 22 pictures from Janis Joplin's life and career.
"What Good Can Drinkin' Do" is a blues song by Janis Joplin, considered the first song she ever recorded.
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.
Love, Janis is a 2001 collection of Janis Joplin's performances interspersed with readings of her personal letters to her family throughout her career. It is a companion to the Off-Broadway musical of the same title and the book by Joplin's sister Laura.
Catherine E. Richardson is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and narrator from the Chicago suburbs in Illinois. She is the lead singer for the band Jefferson Starship and her own Cathy Richardson Band, and has performed the Janis Joplin parts for Joplin's former band Big Brother and the Holding Company.
"The Waiting" is the lead single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' album Hard Promises released in 1981. The song peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #1 on the magazine's new Rock Tracks chart, where it remained for six consecutive weeks during the summer of 1981.
"Down on Me" is a traditional freedom song from the 1920s or earlier that became popular following its remake by Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company.
"Cod'ine" is a contemporary folk song by singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. Considered one of the earliest anti-drug songs, Sainte-Marie wrote the piece after becoming addicted to codeine which she had been given for a bronchial infection. She recorded it for her debut album, It's My Way! (1964).
This Is Janis Joplin 1965 is an album by Janis Joplin released by James Gurley in 1995.
Zdenka Kovačiček is a Croatian jazz and rock vocalist. She remains one of the most prominent musicians on the Croatian music scene.