Sunday, June 22, 2008

Me & Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin

Undoubtedly, my all-time favourite, still giving me goosebumps whenever I listen to it. I remember driving my dad up the wall when I played Janis Joplin full blast at home as a kid. I drive my husband crazy when I listen to her now. Think the little guy has taken after his mom. He does a mean version of Cry Baby.

"Joplin's only number One hit was a posthumous one, and a country, not a blues, song. "Me and Bobby McGee" came from her drinking buddy and occasional crush Kris Kristofferson, but she gave the song its definitive interpretation. (It had already been recorded by "King of the Road" singer Roger Miller.) Joplin's version was "just the tip of the iceberg, showing a whole untapped source of Texas, country and blues that she had at her fingertips," recalled pianist Richard Bell. It was a standout from Pearl, her last solo album, released less than a year after she died of a heroin overdose." Rolling Stones