Here, in deepest December, the Best of Studs Terkel hearkens back to early 1970, and the night Studs visited the American blues singer and song-writer Janis Joplin (1943 – 1970) backstage at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom. Studs recorded their conversation on his portable tape recorder, and then wove in songs from Joplin’s popular record albums. The show includes three interpretations of the Gershwin song “Summertime” – one by Mahalia Jackson, another by Billie Holiday, and one, of course, by Janis Joplin. Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1943. She died, of a heroin overdose, in October 1970.
Janis Joplin (c. 1970)
Janis Joplin seated. (Photo: Albert B. Grossman Management (personal manager), New York., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
