The 1970s was plagued with the untimely deaths of some of music's biggest legends, and Janis Joplin was one of those creative souls whose life ended far too soon. Joplin was born January 19, 1943 and her life was teaming with creativity from a young age. She was mostly a loner during her youth, turning her to music, arts and literature instead of popularity. She also had a strong sense of social justice even as a youngster. She ran away from home in her teens to start her music career and was deeply interested in folk, jazz and blues music.After failed attempts to create a career in Texas and California, Joplin decided to try country music. Before that career could take off, she found out about a band in San Francisco looking for a singer called Big Brother and the Holding Company. Joplin was sucked in by the bands fresh rock sound and soon joined the band on stage. They had a loyal following in California, but a performance at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival pushed Joplin and the band into the limelight. They signed with Columbia records and released Cheap Thrills, which went gold. Joplin was developing into the star of the band, and it was soon called Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding company.The group was also heavily into the drug scene, which took their toll on the band. The band split up at the end of 1968, and Joplin struck out with a newly-formed band of her own. She released I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again, Mama in 1969. Increasing problems led to Joplin quitting drugs. She formed yet another band and started recording her next album, Pearl. During the creation of this album, Joplin was again wooed by heroine and accidentally overdosed in October of 1970.