Janis Joplin Reviews | RateItAll

Janis Joplin

American singer and musician Website

Approval Rate: 67%

67%Approval ratio

Reviews 49

Sort by:
  • by

    moose74

    Wed Aug 27 2008

    Janis was a bright light who was with us for far too short a time.  Of course, her drug use, and the part of her that was self-destructive, should be condemned.  What we're left with is her music, and that is great.  Until Janis, no white woman ever sang the blues with such abandon.

  • by

    louiethe20th

    Mon Jun 30 2008

    Never was that big of a fan, but she was very unique.

  • by

    headson

    Tue Jan 29 2008

    Very unique and talented as a singer. If you hate her for her music you're a dumbass, I mean she did her part in rock n roll and may I recommend Britney Spears or Avril Lavigne for you haters, lol. She did have all the respect from the guys back then though, like Jerry Garcia. And he can't be wrong man.

  • by

    limpin_trenchfoot

    Tue Dec 18 2007

    I've only recently heard some of her stuff and only wish to God I'd delayed this pretty unpleasant experience several decades longer. Quite why this lardy rug munching  moose has classic rock status can only be down to the fact that she croaked early . Why is  it that self destructiveness is seen as a virtue in the rock world?

  • by

    genghisthehun

    Tue Dec 18 2007

    I remember when she died--I was driving along a road in Idaho when I heard the news. I liked Bobby McGee and Mercedes Benz but she was no great shakes, believe me. The world did not go into mourning!

  • by

    canadasucks

    Tue Dec 18 2007

    While I believe Joplin had talent, I've often thought she was a tad overrated and overshadowed by more talented acts during this fascinating era of music. . .

  • by

    lucy2f31

    Mon Jun 18 2007

    Janis Joplin had some great songs. I really have to be in a certain mood to get into her songs.   I like her rendition of Summertime, I really like Turtle Blues and of course, Bobbie McGee.  She was fighting some inner demons and a lot of her songs even sound "tortured" but that's what made her sound so unique.  Nothing else ever like it.

  • by

    willier100

    Sun Mar 11 2007

    Janis was truly the best blues singer of all times-She passed too early. it is a shame she did not have more chance to get her foot in the door of the industry.

  • by

    kelticman

    Mon Oct 23 2006

    Quite simply, the queen of all female rock/blues singers. Her voice is the benchmark by which all others are measured. She was a magnificent talent.

  • by

    buildingjanis6_9

    Thu Oct 20 2005

    I love janis joplin, she is the perfect role model for being yourself and not caring what anyone thinks! you should alwyas be yourself, no matter what. I watched a biography on her, and she is amazing. anyone who does not think janis joplin is just wonderful, is nuts!!!! i love her and her inspiring music!!!!

  • by

    logan49

    Fri Aug 19 2005

    Overrated

  • by

    kadone

    Tue Jun 28 2005

    terrible voice

  • by

    adc103051

    Thu May 19 2005

    FAT DEAD DOPEHEAD.

  • by

    kingguiness

    Tue May 17 2005

    Yes, highly overrated. Nonetheless, she has a few good songs.

  • by

    lene88b4

    Wed Apr 20 2005

    Chicken Soup!

  • by

    molfan

    Sun Apr 03 2005

    I will give her a 2.5. Oh come on, I do not think she deserves to be so high up on this list. The only song I liked from her was Me and Bobby McGee. It seems like it is the only one she did not scream when she sang. why did she abuse her vocal cords the way she sang. I am not one her fans.

  • by

    sally_b

    Mon Feb 14 2005

    I love Janis. She can rock, but she got the blues in her voice too. Rock on.

  • by

    tocwelsh

    Mon Feb 07 2005

    She looked looked she sang!!!!!!!!!

  • by

    fierce_pajamas

    Sat Sep 11 2004

    Janis had one of the best voices ever.

  • by

    althea

    Sat Mar 13 2004

    So misunderstood!!! Janis took old blues and folk songs that everybody at the time had only heard done in passive, slow grinds, and took them to another level! Jaws hung open at the Monterey Pops Fesival. She mixed the soul, spirit, meaning, and history of these well known songs with the passion, anxiety, and experimentation of the Haight Ashbury psychedelic musical growth spurt, and created raw, pure, and inspired art. This woman sang from her soul! She had an extensive range, and she hit notes that most vocalists can only hope to reach. Yet she did it with a raw edge that can only be gained from living a life of struggle. People that don't like her voice are really saying they don't like the grit and authenticity of her delivery. She is so real it bothers people. Many famous female singers credit Janis as an inspiration and an idol. Janis broke the mold, she set the standard, and she paved the way for all female rock singers to come. Sometime lyrics say it best: I don't kn... Read more

  • by

    peoriaaz

    Sun Nov 02 2003

    No, thanks. I like women that bathe

  • by

    kolby1973

    Sun Oct 19 2003

    With the exception of Me and Billy McGee..this woman actually sounded worse than the cats in the back alley ! Janis just couldn't sing.....and I hated her tired message to the world too....who cares?

  • by

    scarletfeather

    Sat Oct 18 2003

    She had a terrible, grating, voice. All she did was holler and scream.

  • by

    joefly69

    Sun Sep 28 2003

    Janis Joplin died 6 years before I was born and she is still my favorite female singer of all times. Rest in peace Janis.

  • by

    jamestkirk

    Wed Sep 10 2003

    The pride of Pt. Arthur, TX!

  • by

    moosekarloff

    Mon Aug 18 2003

    Overrated and excessive. You have to grant her some respect because she revived the approaches of her influences, namely the gutbucket women blues singers of the 1920s-50s, but the black gals did a much better job at it than this imitator. She had pretty bad artistic judgment and never really found a band that was perfectly suited for her. Regardless of what some posters have affirmed here, there was nothing "new" about Joplin's sound and approach, and if anything, her sound is quite derivative and too over the top. And she was hardly the first female rock star, as Brenda Lee and Dusty Springfield had numerous hits long before Joplin came along, and female singers had been part of the rock/pop landscape for over a decade before "Cheap Thrills" was released. Brush up on your music history, folks! Gotta give Janis three stars for trying, however...

  • by

    andyknoedler

    Tue Aug 12 2003

    I saw Janis live twice, once with each of her bands, and enjoyed the earlier gig, with Big Brother and the Holding Company, more than the later one, with the Full Tilt Boogie Band. With a microphone in one hand and a bottle of Southern Comfort in the other, Janis belted out the blues as well as any white girl has every done.

  • by

    help_me

    Sat Jun 21 2003

    sung straight from the heart. she set the grounds for all the other female rockers.

  • by

    heaven_leigh_23

    Fri Jun 20 2003

    Beautiful!!!!!She had a voice like no other in the world and it is a shame that she is no longer with us.

  • by

    jasonluver

    Thu Jun 12 2003

    I love her and we truly lost something when she died. I still rock out to her music daily. It's good soul-bearing lyrics and scream-along music.

  • by

    thebluewyvern

    Mon May 26 2003

    Absolutely horrible...the woman just plain could not sing.

  • by

    rebelyell1861

    Tue May 13 2003

    I don't know how anyone can say they enjoy listening to a skanky girl screeching into a microphone.

  • by

    keetsula

    Fri Mar 14 2003

    Janis Joplin was an original- she spoke for the 60s generation. Although I thought that her wild lifestyle was irresponsible, I admired her rough and tumble singing style. Her hometown, Port Arthur, Texas, never honored her and were ashamed of her antics. I hope the City Fathers eventually erected a memorial in her honor.Just to hear Joplin singing "Summertime", brought up memories of iced lemonade and sultry Texas summers. Her early albums were solid rock 'n' roll. Here's another shot of Southern Comfort, Janis. Rock on.

  • by

    theatre_bug_05

    Mon Feb 17 2003

    How could you not love Janis Joplin?

  • by

    crimson_and_cl_over

    Wed Feb 12 2003

    one of the best female artists

  • by

    wilshakes1

    Mon Jan 20 2003

    She'll always have a piece of my heart. Damn, that girl could wail ... Leonard Cohen wrote his "Chelsea Hotel #2" as a love song/lament to her, and small wonder.

  • by

    angelofmercy62

    Sat Jan 18 2003

    My favourite female artist. Janis influenced me as a child and as a teenager. I have many of her albums in my collection and consider her in a league completely on her own. Janis was raw, emotional, crude, disgusting, can scream like no other - but gave us the Blues and dues. I am disappointed that Janis is not right up there with the rest of 'em...ratings of this kind is very poor. I am one very big fan and appreciate her wonderful persona and am saddened by her death and destructive life in which she lived, but I am thankful to have known her through her music. A 5 star rating is simply not high enough

  • by

    ultraalkaline9_9

    Mon Nov 25 2002

    White trash.

  • by

    gopman79

    Thu Nov 21 2002

    Awful, just awful. Just a drugged up women seriously in need of vocal chords!!!

  • by

    trpnstn1

    Fri Nov 15 2002

    Janis should get a "5" just to pay due to the fact that she was the first female rock star and she inspired and influenced countless female singers that are popular today. She paved the way, and she paid for it. I think people that don't like her, or realize her contribution to music, probably don't have an extensive musical background. If they did, they might be able to see just how cutting edge her singing was back in the 60's. She took songs that were already well known to most people (through jazz, blues, and folk music) and sang them in a way nobody had ever heard before, and maybe never will again. For example "Summertime" was usually performed in a smooth, graceful way like a lullabye, in the 30's and 40's. But, when Janis sang it, the song took on new meaning. It became edgy and rough, filled with Janis' heart and soul, dripping with desire, pain, envy, and raw emotion. Back in the 60's that was totally new, now Janis' version is the version everybody thinks of when you men... Read more

  • by

    kruesit

    Wed Nov 06 2002

    what can i say about janis...it's a shame she lived in the 60's...a waste of a life

  • by

    jason1972

    Fri Oct 25 2002

    She was Robert Plant with ovaries. Seriously though, you could sense every bit of her raw emotions when you hear her or see her old concert footage. What a treat it is to hear her perform. Too bad her time in the limelight was limited.

  • by

    lukskywlkr

    Thu Oct 24 2002

    She sang the blues like no other white woman ever has. Everybody knows Me and Bobby McGee and Mercedes Benz, but listen to Piece of My Heart and Ball and Chain. This lady was amazing. It's such a shame she left us so early.

  • by

    solenoid_dh

    Mon Mar 04 2002

    I was hoping Janis Joplin would be on the list so I could have the distinct privilege of proclaiming her the worst thing I ever listened to. She was grating, noisy, obnoxious, and tone deaf. Lord help anyone who identified with that "music" (and I use the word very loosely).

  • by

    yarden

    Sat Jan 12 2002

    Janis Joplin was, and still, the queen of rock, a classical 60's performer, and one of the best blues singer ever. Her music is so full with emotion and passion, she sang the blues like nobody else can, because she just gives her whole soul to the singing.

  • by

    ellajedlicka21

    Tue Oct 30 2001

    She was a great performer in the late '60s. You have to love the raw power and emotion that she sings with. She wasn't earth-shattering or breath-taking like Hendrix. They both died very young in 1970 and were only in the spotlight for a brief time period. So, she's not a 5, but she was good in her time. Despite this, she is certainly one of the best and most influential women in rock.

  • by

    thekettleblack

    Wed Aug 15 2001

    It sucks that she's being commercialized and exploited like every other dead rock star, because she doesn't deserve it. 100% heart, soul, emotion comes through in her music. I could listen to it forever. She's just amazing. The first *real* female rock star.

  • by

    kiwi8577

    Thu Jul 05 2001

    She was terrific! Maybe not the best singer in the world, but she put her heart and soul into her music! She died way before her time.

  • by

    medgarevers

    Tue May 22 2001

    I bought 'Pearl' the other day. This convinced me that Ms. Joplin is undoubtedly one of rock's greatest females to this day, though she was on the earth for only a short time. She was born into a poor Texan family, laughed out of her school, laughed out of the state, as she said on the Dick Cavett Show. She was caught up in the spirit of the 60's and got pulled into drugs and alcohol. Music was her only escape from all this anguish. I can understand that many do not see the beauty in her work, but once she opened her mouth and released that power, rock and roll would never be the same, I believe.