"I'll trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday"......How many of us can relate to that

Answer: Janis started singing at age 4. She wanted to be a singer all her life. Raised in small town Texas, she suffered bullying and "shunning" by her classmates and was very unhappy at school. She quickly ran outta there to start a band, "The Holding Company" and travelled around the states performing with them where she could. Years later, during her meteoric rise in the industry (see Dick Cavette interview), she recvd offer to return to her hometown to do a performance and guess what...nothing had changed - she deeply regreted that decision. Janis loved the blues and music so much but remember, in the 60's, there was still a lot of racial tension and anxiety against black Americans - and there Janis was, singing the blues, "Black folks music". I love her not only for her unique sound and talent, but because she said, to hell with what anybody else thinks, gave her ALL during every performance, and persevered to reach her dreams. Janis was an original. The way she thought, dressed and talked. A colorful, energized, personality. Like so many performers then and now, Janis sought out the comforts of drugs, namely Heroin, which accidentally killed her, alone, in her hotel room, after she called a dealer she didn't have any experience with. What a lot of people don't know, is that Janis had begun social activism, speaking out for racial equality, for peace, and for a variety of people in societies that were suffering or discriminated against. Janis stood alone, and was self-fueled, yet she craved acceptance and love, something she didn't get from her peers and many adults in her hometown. There will never be anyone like Janis again. Times are different now - lots of great singers, but no one has the sound, rhythm or passion that she stylized from the heart; THAT voice, THAT sound, is all her own.

Janis was influenced by Bessie Smith. And when Janis found out that Bessie’s grave was unmarked, Janis bought a headstone for it.

Jamel, there was no organ in the studio when we recorded that. That was a duplex keyboard on which I could play the piano setting with one hand and organ setting with the other simultaneously or separately because there were two boards stacked. There were two organ settings used, one electric piano setting and one standard piano setting - 4 different settings used altogether. That gig was the only time a keyboard was used in a performance of Me and Bobby McGee. Sam Andrew was the the lead guitar for Big Brother and the Holding company (he was also the founder) and though we were friends until he died 5 years ago, he didn't want any keyboardist in the group - he just wanted guitars drums, bass and vocals. When Janis moved on to the Kozmic Blues band I went with her. It was over too soon, we were devastated by her death. Then Hendrix and Jim Morrison died that same year, year and a half. When Cass Elliot, who I loved dearly, died a couple of years later, I had enough - they seemed to be dropping like flies. I left the business and never looked back.

When she sings "I'd trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday" it just rips my heart out.

My heart goes out to Janis. In an interview, she once said-"In a concert, I make love to ten thousand people, and I go home alone. I hope she found peace.

This is a Kris Kristofferson original but Janis definitely made it hers.

Janis lived in San Francisco for awhile. She went into a store and was trying to buy a mink or fur coat. She wanted to write a check but did not have an ID. The clerk refused to sell it to her. She left the store and a few doors down was a news stand. There was a Time magazine with her picture on the cover. She bought a copy. Took is back to the clerk as her ID and, of course, they let her write a check!

Her voice is like a chain saw cutting through your soul.

Best line, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"

In Don McLean's song "American Pie", he "met a girl who sang the blues", referring to the Janis Joplin version of the song, where she and Bobbie sang the blues. He asks for some happy news from her. However, "she just smiled and turned away", referring to her death in 1970.

This song was written by country/rock artist Kris Kristofferson, who did record it shortly before Janis. After Janis recorded it, an interviewer ask Kris about the Bobby McGee song, and he smiled and replied that it wasn't his song anymore, it was Janis' song now. Janis and Kris were also lovers at one time.

"I'd trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday"---- one of the most perfect lyrics ever created. That is an entire song in it's own right.

She came, she hit it hard, she left.

NO ONE comes even close to Janis, she had the voice of a tiger, & then the most sensual tender voice. AMAZING

FYI: Her childhood home still stands in Port Arthur and is now a Historical Landmark. I see it daily.

Thank you Kris Kristofferson for writing this great song! Janis surely made it her own.

She really got started recording in 1966 when she hooked up with Big Brother and the Holding company. She died October 1970. Her career was very short but what an impression she made. RIP Janis ❤️

She was an old soul, musical maturity at such a young age, sad we didn't get to see her evolve!

“Her voices pierces your soul” YES 🙌

Janis was a gritty hippie chic who Brought It like NO OTHER. She left her Heart on that stage. Phenomenal woman!

You, sir, are so fricking adorable when you really get into the music and it makes me smile and giggle every damn time. In the dark days that are happening right this minute you have brought light to my day. :)

A lot of singers may have sounded like Janis Joplin, but she didn't sound like anyone else. Totally different from anything we had ever heard before or since. You'd see her doing hard-core raw lyrics and then, turn around and sing something like "Me and Bobby McGee " What an amazing entertainer! You never left seeing her and walk out thinking, not worth the money to see. RIP Janis, I'm going to be greedy here... you were taken away from us far too soon. 😢 Peace ✌️ you sister .❤❤❤❤

Song was written by Kris Kristofferson. When this recording came out, his producer or manager brought him the record. He said you have to hear this, you better sit down.

It’s believed she’s mentioned in Don McLean’s American Pie, a song sometimes referred to an the Boomer anthem. The line is “I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away”. The turning away is a reference to her death.

It should be noted that this is a cover. Me and Bobby McGee was written by the great Kris Kristofferson and songwriter Fred Foster. Janis' version was not released until after her death.

Her stage name was Pearl. She had to drink before going onstage because her self-esteem was so low from her tragic upbringing. She was one of the 27's. Died at 27, just like Hendrix, Morrisson etc.

Blue eyed soul. Janis was too good for this world. Thanks for the trip.

No autotune in the 70's or before.....All of the musicians were genuinely talented and that showed in their recordings and live shows... You won't go wrong listening to any of the music from back then..

Janis was from Port Arthur, Texas and was a classmate of football coach Jimmy Johnson. They both have similar accents. Nobody in that oil refinery town knew that this woman possessed the soul and spirit of the blues greats, so she left Texas for the West Coast where she found her mark. Unfortunately like many from that era, the scene caught up with her and we lost an American treasure. She would've been massive in the decades to follow, but for the short time she was with us, Janis Joplin's impact was profound.

Janis blew EVERYONE away at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. If you look at footage, you can see Mama Cass with her jaw on the floor from Janis' voice.

She left us much too soon, but what a mark she left. Duane, Jimmi, Janis. Thank the great Kris Kristofferson for the lyrics. "I'd Trade All Of My Tomorrows for a Single Yesterday" is one of the most memorable and meaningful lines ever sung. Every so often a unique talent arrives upon which all future performances will measured and compared. She was that measuring stick, along with the likes of Elvis, Jimmi, Duane, the Beetles, then later SRV and others.

Kris Kristoferson has a ton of great songs he's written.

"I'd trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday, to be holding Bobby's body next to mine." That's love when it hurts the most.

Janis is by far my favorite female singer ever, bordering on obsession.She died at 27,as lots of the greats did.They even created something called the 27 club for actors and musicians who died at 27.I still listen to her daily.I even literally have the t shirt(freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose)

Janis gave a piece of her heart every time she sang! She and I share a birthday Jan. 19th. She always had a piece of my heart ❤

"windshield wipers slappin' time i was holdin' bobby's hand in mine we sang every song that driver knew" classic

No one like Janis. She was an original for sure

She first recorded in 1962, but her first large audience performance was in 1967 at the Monterey Festival with the legendary performance of "Ball and Chain". That performance alone catapulted her to stardom overnight.

That girl, she sang straight from her heritage and soul! So glad you’ve listened to her!!

Janis was like a blues/folk/rock. Unparalleled passion in her voice. Everything she had in every word she sang.

I feel honored to have grown up on this music. It still get amazed at the amount of phenomenal music was written in the 60's and 70's. Thank you for playing and enjoying my generations music.

Her voice is a roadmap to the human soul, lots of bumps and detours along the way. If you can’t get what she’s singing or how she’s singing it, you haven’t truly lived.

"Janis Joplin, Cry Baby Cry live in Toronto 1970" Incredible. !

"Oh Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz! My friends all drive Porches, I must make amends!"

Never say "Music that I have neglected." You have not neglected it, you just now being turned on to it. It is a "forward" looking thing, not backward! I enjoy seeing you experiencing some of the past.

I'm 69. (7/20) she sang in the 1960's. The era of amazing rock and roll.

No por nada se le conoce como la diosa blanca, larga vida a Janis, que brille siempre la luz perpetua para ella🥰💫🙏

Since you love the organ, I would highly recommend "Whiter Shade of Pale". The organ player got writing credit because it's so strong. There's several versions but I suggest finding all 4 verses. Love your videos. Take care my friend.

That girl had so much soul and richness in her voice. Too bad all the greats are no longer with us.

Janis Joplin stole my heart when I was a kiddo and she always will till I die❤

I grew up listening to Janis because my Mom loved her. When I hear that line about trading all my tomorrow’s for one single yesterday, it really makes me tear up. I lost my Mom 2 years ago and I would traded all my tomorrow’s for one single yesterday with her.

The timbre of her voice was a gift from the gods to all of us.

My favorite memory of this song is driving in a friend's car, holding the steering wheel with one hand and a harmonica in the other so he could play guitar while driving. That's sorta legal in Texas, as long as you have a beer between your legs.

If you like that, listen to her version of "Summertime".

She was one of a kind, unique. We didn’t get time to know all of her work.

Janis started in 66 with Big Brother and the Holding company. What magic! Saw her live at Woodstock. Never will forget and still miss her!

To someone like me who lived in those times, listening to this music is like a drug. Music brings the past in focus again.

Thank you for playing this wonderful woman

Thanks for making this 51 year old man cry like a little girl for about 6 minutes. We used to go camping when I was young boy to Colorado for the summer. Me, my brother and my mother LOVED Janis Joplin and would listen to this on the 8 track for hours and hours. My dad HATED Janis saying she sounded like someone was strangling a cat and he would hide the 8 track so he would not have to hear it. Hearing this song and your reactions bring back fantastic memories. Thank you.

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left lose" One of the best lines put in a song, and will forever hold true. Janis has always been one of my favorites.

Janis was a class act. Her hero was Otis Redding and if she had lived, she would have gone into Soul/R'n'B. She has been gone for 49 years this October but her music remains timeless. That is the best tribute of all.

Another one of those that has the voice of a dog, but the passion of an Angel. Love Janis!. Love Janis!....

We were blessed to have heard her when she was alive.I didn't get to see her in concert,as I was only 12 in 1970,but I did see Jimi Hendrix at The Forum in Inglewood, California,and what a memory that is.

Today’s music industry is so shallow; wouldn’t pay attention to her because of her looks. Thank god she had her own time.

Janis in her pop mode. Cheap Thrills was her best. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for her .

Janice! My girl! Could listen to her all day! Her voice- WOW! No one like her , never will be again. : )

When you said her voice just pierces your soul, it was spot on!

That lady has taken me to church with that voice for over 50 years. 🎶🎹🎸🎤🙌

Man, Janis could sure "work a song." She mesmerizes you at first, then gradually cranks up the emotion, ending up with a sad, sad ending...and she makes you FEEL her regret.

The world lost a great talent, too early, when Janis died. I was about 18 at the time this was recorded. This was part of the late 70's rock and roll movement which incorporated/fused many different types of musical styles - blues, country, gospel, jazz and more. It was an amazing time for music and I feel so lucky to have been there then at the age I was. This song was written by a great country singer/songwriter, Kris Kristofferson, who also was a Rhodes Scholar (in science, I think Biology) pilot, turned down an offer as a professor at West Point, and a somewhat successful actor. talent all around this song.

Biggest hit of her life released after her death. She was once voted The Ugliest Man on Campus while in college by the school newspaper. And they printed it. She showed them something.

My man you’re just a brother from another mother, we all bleed RED. You make me laugh every day. Just wanna say THANKS

In 1967, Joplin rose to fame following an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. thanx to wikipedia

You will never be the same after hearing Janice sing.

Her voice was seriously incredible in the music world.

LOVE Janis...she was an outcast in her town, because she was so unique, she hung out with the hippies of the 60's.

And that, my friend, is called "bringin' it home".

Janis was a woman of The Blues back in my day! My all-time favorite singer!!

A woman left lonely, My moms favorite singer! A woman left lonely is a song I can’t listen to with out crying. My 15 year old found our mom passed away she had been there for 3 days left lonely. Love and miss you every single day mom.

It is so much fun seeing you enjoy music that I have loved for years. Janis was one of a kind.

Janis Joplin poured out her soul in every lyric. She hardly ever sang on perfect key but you could hear and feel her pain in those notes and that's why people loved her

One of my favorite Joplin songs. No one can touch her. ❤️

Janis left Port Arthur, Texas at 16 and headed to Haight-Ashbury (in SF where all the hippies converged). The story is that she was in the City singing around, then down to the Monterey Pop Festival. Someone cleverly said that Janis "walked in a nobody, and left a legend". Janis said, "I sing to 10,000 people then I go home alone" Kris Kristofferson (also singer, songwriter, lover & actor) wrote this song and sang it, in a different way. I miss her every single day! Thanks for the vid. and super reaction, Jamel. : o )

One of the most underrated female entertainers of all time. What a voice and spirit. 💔

Thank you for re-introducing this amazing, yet tragic singer. Janis Joplin was from a small Texas town where, surprise!, she didn’t fit in. I don’t remember exactly when she left home, but she was in her teens. She had a distinctive voice and a unique style. She was the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, a druggie reference. She went out on her own pretty quickly. Lots of heartbreaks, drugs and drinking took a toll on her. Unfortunately, Janis died right on the cusp of major stardom. Her nickname was Pearl which is the name of her Greatest Hits album. Bobby Mcgee was written by Kris Kristoferson for an old girlfriend so her version is really a cover. Check out Kris Kristoferson as his songs were also sung by Willie Nelson & other artists. Kris married Rita Collidge who was also a great singer of the time, though quite different from Janis. It was a very tight community where everyone sang backup and studio musicians moved from singer to singer. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison all died very close to one another. It was devastating and the world suffered a huge loss. I was a Senior in High School and part of my world died, too. Janis Joplin’s male counterpart is Joe Coker, another amazing gravel voiced singer who was fabulously parodied by John Belushi in SNL. It was a tremendous community of singers and musicians, many who succumbed to drugs and alcohol. Sorry to ramble but it was such an unbelievable time for music and it was all interwoven and stitched together in a timeless quilt. To end on a light hearted note, listen to Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz. It will make you smile. 💋

Oh my I lived this era. Thank you all for sharing your histories while we're still here to do this. I sure enjoyed 'this trip' back into time hahaha. The 60's and the 70's had the best diversity of music. It all came from the souls bc it wasn't so damn commercial back then. Beautiful fluid soft instrumentals in Bobbie McGee. Her voice an instrument. When that 'organ' music and the piano came in together .... And Jamel you're the bomb. I'd shoulder dance with you anytime!

love the soul of this woman...took the lyrics of Kris Kristofferson and truly made them her own! One of my favorite singers of all time.. Why do they leave us so quickly?

Had to smile when you said she gave "a piece of her heart" - 'Piece of My Heart' was one of her hits. Janis didn't make much more than she spent and gave away - she'd be appalled that any videos of hers were getting pulled by KZfaq's lawyers. She started singing in Texas bars in her teens - can't recall exact age, but it was young - before moving to California and an eventual rock career.

Jamel you would have been part of the “ flower 🌸 power “ movement back in the 60s ☮️ 😊

She always had a bottle of Southern Comfort with her whenever she was on stage !!!

Jamel, I would nominate you for a Nobel peace prize. You have done more in the last year or so to move people into joy than anyone I can think of.

“If it sounds country, that’s because it’s a country song, man.” Kris Kristofferson, about this song.

"Yall KNOW how I git about the church organ, man!" Son, I just fell in love with you. I'm subscribing now!

Janice was the only singer that could sing two tones at once, the raspy voice splitting the notes. She was amazing, and under appreciated.

Janis was this little bitty thing with this giant superhuman voice. She was a vocal phenom. Wish she could have left that s**t alone. Thanks for the great music Janis.

It was years before I knew the lyric "I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna" was talking about a harmonica.

Janis was a gift to us all. A joy. She is much missed.

I've always described Janis Joplin's voice as wiskey and cigarettes and she's absolutely amazing! I really enjoy your videos, thanks for making the days a little brighter!

This is all about zero regrets. Love her, may she sing and dance in the other dimension.