Live at Winterland '68

Performer: Janis Joplin
Producer: Bob Irwin
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: /Big Brother & The Holding Company. Big Brother & The Holding Company : Janis Joplin (vocals); Sam Andrews, David Gurley (guitar, background vocals); Peter Albin (bass, background vocals); David Getz (drums, background vocals). Recorded live at The Winterland, San Francisco, California on April 12 & 13, 1968. Includes liner notes by Dave Getz, Sam Andrew, Beng Fong-Torres, Jaan Uhelszki, Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Meredith Brooks, Deborah Harry, Kim Gordon, Amy Ray, Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Nicks. This concert recording finds Janis Joplin and Big Brother returning to San Francisco upon completing a triumphant East Coast tour that found acts such as B.B. King and Albert King opening for them, Big Brother were hailed as conquering heroes prior to their hitting the studio to record what would become CHEAP THRILLS. At the center of it all was Janis Joplin, a raw-throated Texan whose love of Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith was channeled through her music every night. More than a mere lover of the blues, Joplin amply displayed her impressive range as she crooned her way through the standard "Summertime," poured her soul into Erma Franklin's "Piece Of My Heart" and belted out folkie Mark Spoelstra's "Magic Of Love." Whether in the traded vocals of Joplin and guitarist James Gurley on "Easy Rider" or the chugging insistency of "Combination Of The Two," LIVE AT WINTERLAND '68 perfectly demonstrates the fluid synergy between Joplin's singing and Big Brother's brand of acid-rock, capturing the intensity that this impressive unit carried through the two sets that make up this disc.

Entertainment Weekly (6/5/98, p.85) - "Joplin fans won't find any forgotten gems on this famous, beautifully recorded performance, but Big Brother, thrillingly raw and raunchy, emerges as one of the most unjustifiably maligned bands of the era..." - Rating: B+

Texas-born blues-rock singer Janis Joplin's sadly short career saw her change from coffehouse folkie into a feminist blues icon for the psychedelic '60s generation, all in the space of four years. Though she started out as a solo singer, it was as the frontwoman for Bay Area acid-blues-rockers Big Brother & The Holding Company that she skyrocketed to fame, her outsized voice, image, and personality making her natural star material. Eventually, she proved too big for the confines of Big Brother and went the solo route. A breakthrough album was recorded just before her early death, adding a tragic aura to her small body of work.

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