Janis Lyn Joplin is one of the most iconic and influential musicians in rock history—celebrated as “The Queen of Rock” and “The Queen of Psychedelic Soul.” Growing up in Port Arthur was difficult; she was a free spirit who loved art but was often mocked by classmates at Thomas Jefferson High School. She found refuge in blues legends like Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton, and Lead Belly, listening at friends’ homes and the public library. After graduating in 1960, she attended Lamar State College of Technology in Beaumont during the summer and later the University of Texas at Austin, where her unconventional personality drew attention. The Daily Texan profiled her in 1962, calling her someone who dared to be different. She performed with the Waller Creek Boys at Threadgill’s, socialized with staff of The Texas Ranger campus magazine, and recorded her first song, “What Good Can Drinkin’ Do,” in 1962.

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By January 1963, Janis—well on her way to her signature vocal style—dropped out and hitchhiked to San Francisco with her friend Chet Helms. In 1964 she recorded blues standards with Jorma Kaukonen, accompanied by the clacking of Kaukonen’s wife’s typewriter. Drug use soon took a toll; friends urged her to return to Port Arthur in 1965. Back home, she avoided drugs and alcohol, adopted a new clean-cut look, and enrolled at Lamar University as an anthropology major while continuing to perform in Austin. She became engaged to Peter de Blanc, but the engagement ended quickly. During this period she recorded seven acoustic tracks—including “Turtle Blues”—later released in 1995 as This Is Janis Joplin 1965.

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In 1966, Chet Helms sent Travis Rivers to Austin to bring her back to San Francisco, where she joined Big Brother and the Holding Company. Her first performance with them was June 4 at the Avalon Ballroom. The band became a fixture at the Fillmore West, Winterland, and other major venues. Their debut album followed their breakthrough at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, producing songs like “Down on Me.” Their second album, Cheap Thrills (1968), featured the hits “Piece of My Heart” and “Summertime,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and sold more than a million copies in its first month. Though successful, Joplin wanted to work with more technically skilled musicians, and aside from two reunions in 1970, her last performance with Big Brother was in December 1968.

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She then formed the Kozmic Blues Band and performed at Woodstock on August 17, 1969. After an exhausting ten-hour delay, she took the stage at 2 a.m. and delivered a powerful performance that ended with “Ball and Chain.” She briefly dated Johnny Winter and continued performing nationwide, but became dissatisfied with the band’s sound. In 1970 she created the Full Tilt Boogie Band—her first handpicked group—stating proudly, “It’s my band. Finally, it’s my band.” They toured nationwide with strong reviews from fans and critics.

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Among Joplin’s last public appearances were two Dick Cavett Show broadcasts in 1970. In her June appearance, she explained that former classmates had mocked her so relentlessly that she felt pushed “out of class, out of town and out of the state.” That summer she checked into the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood while recording at Sunset Sound Recorders. She became engaged to Seth Morgan and continued recording tracks for her upcoming album. On October 1, 1970, she completed her final vocal, “Mercedes Benz.” The next night she had dinner with fellow Port Arthur classmate Robert Rauschenberg, who recalled her excitement about the album’s progress. On October 4, producer Paul Rothchild found her dead of a heroin overdose, the result of a batch far stronger than what users had been receiving. Her death was ruled accidental.

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Joplin was cremated and her ashes scattered into the Pacific Ocean. Her will specified $2,500 for a party in her honor. Her final album, Pearl (1971), was released posthumously, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and was certified quadruple platinum. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013. Rolling Stone ranked her among the greatest artists and singers of all time.

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Her psychedelic 1965 Porsche 356 Cabriolet sold for $1.76 million at Sotheby’s in 2016, and a replica along with her original artwork is displayed at the Museum of the Gulf Coast, where Janis Joplin is an honored member of the Music Hall of Fame in her hometown of Port Arthur.