Move Over: Janis Joplin’s Best Tunes Came Last
Janis Joplin’s short career of just four years and as many albums came to an end when she joined the 27 Club on 4th October 1970, following a heroin overdose paired with excessive alcohol consumption.
Her final solo album, Pearl, was released posthumously—and it contained her best work. But let’s start from the beginning.
In 1967, Janis was the lead singer of Big Brother & The Holding Company. After a well-received performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, Columbia Records took over the rights for their debut album from indie label Mainstream Records.
Columbia relaunched the album with a new front cover, now featuring Janis Joplin’s name, clearly recognising her as the star of the show.
The debut had one minor hit, Down On Me, but even with Columbia’s backing, it wasn’t a success.
The follow-up, Cheap Thrills (1968), was a studio album with added fake crowd noise. Two big tunes came from this release: a cover of the jazz standard Summertime and Piece of My Heart.
Piece of My Heart was a popular tune in the late ’60s—recorded by Aretha Franklin’s sister Erma, and Dusty Springfield, who slightly altered the title.
Janis’s next studio album was her first solo effort, I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969). Unfortunately, it didn’t yield any hit tunes—but to be fair, neither did her old band’s next album, released the following year without her, both still on Columbia.
On Janis’s solo debut, there was an attempt to turn the Bee Gees’ hit To Love Somebody into a blues tune, but it didn’t quite work and wasn’t even released as a single.
Finally, Pearl—Janis’s masterpiece—arrived just three months after her death.
Here we find her best work in Move Over, Me and Bobby McGee (a Kris Kristofferson cover), and Mercedes Benz. The latter two have become huge tunes, but in my opinion, Move Over is an underrated gem and a fantastic addition to any female-led blues-rock band’s setlist.
It’s also a great exercise for guitarists looking to sync tightly with their lead singer. I really should record it and turn it into a lesson!
Janis Joplin Tunes | Related Pages
Me and Bobby McGee | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| G | G |
Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin’ for a train…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Me and Bobby McGee (Janis Joplin) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Piece of My Heart | Chords + Lyrics
Learn how to play Piece of My Heart by Janis Joplin + Dusty Springfield using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| E A | B A |
Didn’t I make you feel like you…
Summertime | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Summertime by Billie Holiday using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C | Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C |
Summertime and the living is easy…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Summertime (Billie Holiday) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Janis Joplin on the web
