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JANIS JOPLIN

 

“Photographing Janis Joplin (1968-1969)

I found Janis Joplin to be loving, considerate, and lonely. She seemed to experience pain even when she was having pleasure. That she couldn’t get as high in real life as she did from her performances saddened and depressed her. Drugs got out of hand. They made the highs higher and the lows lower—too low. Her answer was to do more. She was wrong…

One night, after a big show in New York, I shared a cab with her and a few other members of the band. She directed the cab to drive to the home of a casual friend who she hoped was there. When she got out, she shook her head and with a sad smile said, “Man, what a drag. Here I am a big star and I can’t find anyone to be with.” We all invited her to stay with us, but she walked away. It was snowing. The cab drove on, taking each of us to our destinations, but for Janis, apparently, there was no place to call home.