JANIS JOPLIN

At the time when wholesome singers like Debbie Boone were on the radio, girls from Janis Joplin’s hometown of Port Arthur, Texas, were expected to marry their high-school boyfriends. Joplin, however, preferred to draw and listen to folk and blues music. Pursuing a life of freedom and art, Joplin traveled from Texas to California, where she nursed her talent and carved out a life as a singer. Joplin was intelligent, honest and a bold pioneer for women in music, but she was also devastatingly insecure, a trait that contributed to her drug addiction and death by overdose. Angel showcases the rise of hippie culture and how its ideals of creative expression appealed to Joplin. Quotes from Joplin’s loved ones and photographs (both color and black-and-white) chronicling her life are set against geometric designs in ’60s psychedelic colors, which add interest and appeal without distracting. Young music buffs will gain an understanding of Joplin’s place in pop culture and how, even with her career cut short, she paved the way for today’s female rock musicians. (Biography. 14 & up)