It currently sits at number 259 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Pearl is now considered one of the greatest albums of both the blues and rock genres. With her death still fresh in the public consciousness, Pearl proved a hit, topping the US Billboard chart and ultimately selling four million copies. Joplin had died on October 4th of the previous year. Pearl was released on January 11th, 1970. Bobby Womack adds tambourine on Trust Me. Joplin also plays acoustic guitar on Pearl, backed by Richard Bell (piano), Ken Pearson (Hammond organ), John Till (electric guitar), Brad Campbell (bass) and Clark Pierson (drums). Move Over and Mercedes Benz were written by Joplin herself while the rest of the album consisted of covers, though Trust Me was written specifically for Joplin by Bobby Womack. Side B gives us My Baby Me and Bobby McGee Mercedes Benz Trust Me and Get it While You Can. On Side A are Move Over Cry Baby A Woman Left Lonely Half Moon and Buried Alive in the Blues. In its original release Pearl features 10 tracks. In Joplin’s growls and yells you can hear the beginnings of what would become Heavy Metal. It’s a perfect showcase for a singer who was instrumental in building the bridge between blues and rock that was being crossed by several acts of the era. Pearl sees Joplin return to a more traditional blues style than the psychedelic tinged albums she made with her previous backing bands. Rothchild, who had recently worked his magic for The Doors, gave Pearl a far more polished sound than Joplin’s previous albums. For her 1970 album Pearl she opted for The Full Tilt Boogie Band, who been her backing band on a recent Canadian tour. On 1969’s I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, Joplin was backed by the Kozmic Blues Band. She recorded two studio albums with BB&THC – 1967’s Big Brother & the Holding Company and 1968’s Cheap Thrills – before leaving to pursue a solo career.Īs the frontwoman of BB&THC, Joplin had hogged the limelight, drawing attention for her distinctive bluesy drawl, which sounded like it came from a singer far more mature than the young Janis. Soon she would become one of the biggest names in rock music, but her fame drove her back to her vices. Joplin returned to San Francisco to join the band. This tape, along with her growing reputation as a singer in Texas, attracted the attention of San Francisco rockers Big Brother and the Holding Company, who were looking for a lead vocalist. While in San Francisco, Joplin had befriended future Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, with whom she recorded a demo session. After two years of heavy drinking and drug dependency, Joplin’s friends put her on a bus back to Texas. Joplin’s drug issues began in 1963 when she left her conservative home in Texas for the beatnik Mecca of San Francisco. Though only her second solo studio album, Pearl would sadly be released in the wake of her premature death from a drug overdose at the age of 27. Janis Joplin’s story is the all too familiar tale of a young artist dying while still at the peak of their powers.
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