In the summer of 1967 Big Brother & The Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin, was one of the San Francisco bands that was invited to play at the Monterey International Pop Festival. Until the band's appearance at Monterey, Janis was known only in parts of Texas and on the West Coast, especially around San Francisco, by fans of female blues singers.
During the festival several of Janis's landmark performances were captured on film before an audience that like the band was floating amid a sea of recreational drugs including LSD and Marijuana. Her performance of "Ball & Chain", appears in the film Monterey Pop while several of her other performances from Monterey would appear on the Cheap Thrills album.
Monterey Pop captures the exact moment in time when rock music pushed aside it's pop music roots and took the stage as musical force to be heard as it was intended, loud, angry, and full tilt. In the film you can actually see the look of amazement on the face of Mama Cass Elliot, the lead female vocalist of the pop group The Mamas and The Papas and until that moment the reigning queen of 60s pop music, as she witnessed Janis Joplin's landmark performance of "Ball & Chain".
Before Monterey, the leading pop groups of American popular music were acts like The Mamas and The Papas and The Association. After Monterey, it all changed. Performers such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin became legends overnight. The previous top selling acts were yesterday's news even before the last amplifier was unplugged.
To truly appreciate Janis Joplin's abilities as a rock/blues singer you really should make a point to see her performances that were captured in films such as Monterey Pop.
Janis Joplin's estate is currently searching for a female singer who can sing like Janis could and who would tour with the surviving members of the bands that backed Janis including Big Brother, The Kozmic Blues Band, and The Full Tilt Boogie Band.
Here is the link to the "Search for The Pearl".
http://www.overtherhine.com/orchard/...php/t4502.html