Download    Ah, Janis Joplin. Such a sweet innocent voice amidst all the turmoil of the late sixties. NOT!  The girl was loud and raucous and had a voice that was somehow raw and sexy at the same time.  She was a force to be reckoned with and if you didn’t like… well, that was just too bad.

Janis recorded “Bobby McGee” for her Pearl album just a few days before her death in October of 1970.  It was written by Kris Kristofferson and first recorded by Roger Miller, who had a semi-hit with it.  Kristofferson recorded it himself, of course, but it’s the Joplin version that people most remember.  He didn’t even hear her recording of his song until the day after she died.  The song went to number one on the Singles Chart, making it the second ever number one hit released posthumously – the first being “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding.

I was never wild about this tune.  I mean, I liked it okay,  but just the idea of Janis recording it so close to her death is intriguing.  What I discovered while working up this arrangement is that her back-up band kicked butt!  Especially the keyboards – who knew?  She broke away from the band “Big Brother and the Holding Company” and formed her own band called “The Kozmic Blues Band”, taking “Big Brother’s” keyboard player, Steve Ryder, with her – excellent idea.  After dissecting the song and trying to mimic Ryder’s piano genius, I have a new appreciation for this composition.  And the bass player wasn’t any slouch either.

I hate the sudden ending, but in the interest of being as true to the original as possible – there it is.  If you perform this song and you have dancers, you’ll have to warn them:  “The song ends in 4 beats so be ready, people.  All right… STOP!”