since July 3, 2004.I'll be honest. When I started editorializing about music, I hadn't intended on writing about Janis. Quite frankly, I really didn't want to. Those who know me might think the task an easy one, as Janis is one of my favorite singers. But really, how could I write this damn thing without making it sound like an overzealous fan testimonial? Hmm, I have no idea. . .
I guess what sparked this madness is the seemingly ongoing effort to bring Janis' life story to the big screen. For the longest time, the aptly titled "Piece of My Heart" - penned by Melissa Ethridge's ex-lover Julie Cypher and supposedly starring then dark-tressed Brittany Murphy - kept hitting too many roadblocks; it was on, then it wasn't; no one ever really heard whether it was in the works or merely rumor. Now, the rumor is that "Piece of My Heart" has been scrapped and a new bio has been greenlit, starring native Texan Renee Zellweger, providing her own vocals and supposedly recycling her "Bridget Jones" weight to play the so-called 'chunky' singer.
OK, I'm no movie critic, but given the choice between the two actresses I'd definitely go with Murphy. While I can't deny that Zellweger is a good actress, she lacks the rawness and vulnerabilty that Murphy is able to portray almost effortlessly (think "Don't Say a Word" and "Girl, Interrupted"). Plus, I doubt Murphy would attempt to dupe Janis' singing. And Zellweger's a fool for trying; I don't care how many Golden Globes she's won. The only one - and I mean the only one - who's come close to sounding like Janis is Kathi McDonald, who appeared on several Big Brother and the Holding Company albums, including their 1997 release Can't Go Home Again (check out "As the Years Go Passing By").
Some of you might be thinking, what's so great about a singer with a scratchy voice who nearly managed four albums by the time she overdosed at 27? Well, put simply, Janis and Big Brother were ahead of their time, as were many other singers and groups of the psychedelic era. But Janis was unique in the sense that she made it OK for women to rock, therefore inspiring generations to come. Her solo outings with Kozmic Blues and Full Tilt Boogie bands were daring, but they allowed her to do music her way. She spoke her mind and said what she felt, regardless who was listening. She took the tight-laced attitudes regarding gender roles - particularly concerning sex - and basically threw them out the window, and her bra along with them. She sought diversity through music, channeling the likes of those she admired, including Willie Mae Thorton, Etta James, Otis Redding, and Bessie Smith, whom she honored by purchasing her headstone. Music was her life, much a part of it as it was of her. She eventually adopted the persona 'Pearl' that would title her final and posthumous studio release, which many critics touted as her best. She was different. She was tough and ballsy, yet fragile and all too human as she fell victim to herself and heroin some 33 years ago.
However, the life and times of Janis Joplin have been documented ("Ball and Chain," "Janis"), recounted ("Nine Hundred Nights," vh1 Legends, E! True Hollywood Story) and (vaguely) retold ("The Rose"). There are already many books out there about Janis, including one written by her sister. Janis Joplin memorabilia sells like hotcakes across the country and likely the world. In fact, she's still a legend, especially in Haight Ashbury, where it all began.
So, if this big push for a Janis Joplin biopic is a marketing ploy or for fear that the world has forgotten about Pearl, don't worry, we haven't. And we - well, I, at least - don't need another loosely based film to remind us what fans, the music industry and the world lost on Oct. 4, 1970, or what might have been. I know I can't speak for other fans, but I prefer to remember her in my own way:
The way she was.
Copyright © 2004, Talia M. Wilson
published in Cooper Point Journal, Jan. 29, 2004
Revised July 2004
since July 3, 2004.