Janis Joplin was one of the most iconic singers and songwriters of the 1960s. Her voice was unmistakably unique, and her rise to fame was unprecedented. Despite the fact that much of her life has been made available to the public, there are still some things that many people don’t know about her. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Janis Joplin. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: She Was a Good Student. Joplin was good at school, and one exam from her childhood shows that she got a 99 on one of her exams (at least one, anyway).
Number Fourteen: Her First Recorded Song Was About Alcohol. The song was called “What Good Can Drinkin’ Do,” and Joplin was just 20 years old when she recorded it. She was a student at the University of Texas when she recorded the song.
Number Thirteen: If You Have 20 Dollars, You Could Have Seen Her Perform. Joplin performed at Woodstock, which is no real secret. However, one interesting tidbit is that a three-day ticket to Woodstock was just 18 dollars. Imagine that!
Number Twelve: She Was Never One of the Popular Kids. Despite the fame associated with her name today, Joplin was not popular growing up. In fact, she was bullied by her classmates in peers growing up in Port Arthur, Texas. She escaped the bullying by dying her hair and going out to bars when she was young.
Number Eleven: She Was Skilled at Karate. Joplin was so skilled, in fact, that she had a third-degree black belt! She had her black belt in Kenpo Karate. Clearly, there is nothing this woman couldn’t do.
Number Ten: She Was Arrested. In 1969, Joplin was performing in Tampa, Florida when she got arrested. She was arrested for vulgar and indecent language toward police officers. However, she was allowed to finish performing before she was arrested.
Number Nine: She Only Ever Had One Hit Single. And that single was “Me and Bobby McGee.” The single reached number one on the charts after her death.