On the Road with Janis Joplin
Read On the Road with Janis Joplin Online
Authors: John Byrne Cooke
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Copyright © 2014 by John Byrne Cooke.
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eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-15471-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cooke, John Byrne.
On the road with Janis Joplin / John Byrne Cooke. — First edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-425-27411-8 (hardcover)
1. Joplin, Janis. 2. Joplin, Janis—Performances. 3. Rock musicians—United States—Biography. I. Title.
ML420.J77C66 2014
782.42166092—dc23
[B]
2014034647
FIRST EDITION:
November 2014
Cover and endpaper photographs © John Byrne Cooke.
Cover and endpaper design by Diana Kolsky.
Interior text design by Tiffany Estreicher.
Jacket poster lyrics are from “As Good as You’ve Been to This World” written by Nick Gravenites.
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Version_1
For
Janis
CHAPTER ONE | If You’re Going to San Francisco
CHAPTER TWO | California Dreamin’
CHAPTER THREE | It Happened in Monterey
CHAPTER FOUR | More Pretty Girls Than One
CHAPTER FIVE | Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay
CHAPTER SIX | Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar
CHAPTER SEVEN | Hit the Road, Jack
CHAPTER EIGHT | Hooray for Hollywood
CHAPTER NINE | New York, New York
CHAPTER TEN | What a Wonderful Town
CHAPTER ELEVEN | Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
CHAPTER TWELVE | Cheap Thrills
CHAPTER THIRTEEN | Downtown Nowhere
CHAPTER FOURTEEN | Memphis, Tennessee
CHAPTER FIFTEEN | On the Road Again
CHAPTER SIXTEEN | The Grand Tour
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN | Back in the U.S.A.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN | Half a Million Strong
CHAPTER NINETEEN | Little Girl Blue
Brazilian Interlude:
Manha de Carnival
CHAPTER TWENTY | The Great Tequila Boogie
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE | Full Tilt Boogie
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO | Riding That Train
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE | T for Texas
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR | That Old Gang of Mine
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE | A Woman Left Lonely
S
O MANY PEOPLE
have helped in so many ways to bring this book, at long last, into the light of day, that I approach the task of acknowledging them with the certain knowledge that I will forget one or more whose names should be recognized here. I ask your forgiveness at the outset for any omissions, and I promise to rectify them when I can.
Laura and Michael Joplin, Janis’s sister and brother, have shepherded Janis’s legacy through the years with care and love. They have supported the use of my photographs and films of Janis in many projects, and I am grateful for their support for this one. Jeff Jampol, the manager of Janis’s estate, has been similarly supportive; he has preserved and enhanced Janis’s legacy through a variety of creative projects and he provided valuable assistance and advice in moving this book along the path to publication.
Candace Lake, my agent and friend for almost four decades, guided the effort to find a home for this book, and provided the vital link that helped us arrive at Anthony Mattero, of Foundry Literary + Media, who expertly planned the final steps that led us to Berkley Books. Their support and friendship is ongoing, and deeply appreciated.
Authors do not choose their editors. I have been very fortunate in
the editors who have chosen to work with me, never more so than in the case of my present editor, Denise Silvestro. Her encouragement, advice, and innovative solutions to every vexing question have improved this book in ways I never imagined possible. Denise’s assistant, Allison Janice, labored valiantly over the source notes and performed countless other chores without ever making me feel that any other books or authors needed a minute of her time. Managing editor Michelle Kasper kept the book on schedule. She and many others at Berkley Books and Penguin Random House have made me feel very lucky to be with this publisher.
Stacy Kreuzmann Quinn and Nancy Reid, of Acid Test Productions, who published
Janis Joplin: A Performance Diary
, encouraged me to tell my own story of these years and provided helpful suggestions and insights.
Earl Crabb and David Swift scanned research pages and early drafts of this book into my computer before I knew anything about scanning. Earl has contributed so many hours of computer diagnosis, problem-solving and advice over the course of thirty years that I can never adequately repay him, but I will try my best to channel Albert Grossman and pick up the check anytime we break bread together.
Many of Janis’s friends and mine, among them many of the people who knew Janis best during her years of national and international touring, contributed their insights and knowledge by agreeing to sit down for recorded conversations with me. Excerpts in the book are credited as “Author interview with,” but these were truly conversations that followed wherever the pathways of memory took us, rather than a prepared list of questions, although I had those too. None of these contributors were more consistently helpful than Sam Andrew, of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Bob Neuwirth. Dave Getz and Peter Albin, the other surviving members of Big Brother, also deserve special mention. Thanks also to Mark Braunstein; Kozmic Blues Band members Brad Campbell, Terry Clements, Snooky Flowers, Richard Kermode, and John Till; Full Tilt Boogie members Richard Bell, Ken
Pearson, and Clark Pierson; and Committee members Alan Myerson (director), Howard Hesseman, Carl Gottlieb, and Garry Goodrow.
I would like to write individual words of thanks to all the others who helped me, but in order that the reader can move along a little sooner to Janis’s story, I list them here with my heartfelt thanks to each: Dave Barry, Peter Berg, Barbara Carroll, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Lyndall Erb, Mimi Fariña, Barry Feinstein, John Fisher, Dave and Vera-Mae Fredrickson, Charlie Frizzell, Ralph J. Gleason, Bennett Glotzer, Bob (Robert E.) Gordon, Allison Caine Gottlieb, Bill Graham, Linda Gravenites, Nick Gravenites, Debbie Green, Sally Grossman, Robert L. Jones, Al Kooper, Jon McIntire, Milan Melvin, Margaret Moore, Seth Morgan, Geoff Muldaur, D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Frazer Pennebaker, Peter Pilafian, Fritz Richmond, Paul Rothchild, Rock Scully, Bob Seidemann, and Mary Works.
Thanks to one and all, and God bless us, every one.
—
P
ETER
A
LBIN,
D
AVE
Getz, and Sam Andrew continue to perform music together as Big Brother and the Holding Company, and in other combinations. Robert Altman, D. A. Pennebaker, and Bob Seidemann generously contributed photographs that are included in this book. Mary Works’s film
The Life and Times of the Red Dog Saloon
beautifully chronicles the origins of the San Francisco rock-and-roll ballroom scene in the midsixties. You can follow their activities and see their work at these websites:
Official Janis Joplin website: janisjoplin.com
Big Brother and the Holding Company: bbhc.com
Robert Altman Photography: altmanphoto.com
Pennebaker-Hegedus Films: phfilms.com
Bob Seidemann Photography: bobseidemann.com
Mary Works: reddogsaloonfilm.com/Red_Dog_Saloon_Film
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