Janice Joplin

[Tractorat]

There is a story today about Janice Joplin. She would now be 70 years old.



Uhg, Im old... ... ... ... ...

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

I hear ya TRat... Seems like yesterday we were listening to her "sandpaper" voice.

 

[HBarlow]

Odd coincidence that Janice Joplin would be 70 yo and so am I. I grew up with Janice Joplin and attended school with her. Yeah, bs some of you are saying.

I grew up in Port Arthur, TX as did Janice. We attended elementary school at Tyrrell Elementary School in the old Griffin Park neighborhood. Janice and I were in the same grade although not in the same class in elementary school. The class of 1960 was a huge class of almost 600 students iirc, all of us born in 1942 to early 1943. I lived in a different neighborhood and we split in the 5th and 6th grades where Janice remained at Tyrrell and I moved to the new Sam Houston Elementary. We were back together at Woodrow Wilson Junior High for 7th through 9th grades and again at Thomas Jefferson High School for grades 10 through 12 although I was kicked out of school in my junior year and lived on a ranch in McCulloch County with an aunt and uncle and then was in Navy boot camp when my class graduated. I was not a sterling teenager or student. I was once out on an informal double date with two girls, Janice was one of them, and myself and another guy. I never was close to Janice, didn't even know her real well, but we attended school together and lived in the same crappy union oil refinery town of about 60,000 people back then.

Janice came from a good solid middle class American family. She didn't stand out until possibly by the senior year when I was already gone. I remember she was always in the annual school play in elementary school. Other than that she was a better than average student as I remember.

Look Janice up and you'll confirm the story I just told you.

 

[JR]

Just think Harvey, instead of singing about Bobby Mcgee it could o been "Me and my Harvey Barlow" :-laf:-laf:-laf

Doesnt have quite the same ring to it though! Thats a neat story. My step mother grew up and went to school with Sharon Stone in Saegertown PA. They kept in touch through letters for many years but time passed and they drifted apart and it has been a long time since they spoke. She always remembered Sharon as just another small town girl, even after she fell into the $$$$$$.

 

[Flying_gage]

Cool story Mr. Barlow!

 

[B.G. Smith]

Small world Harvey, you probably ran into J. Johnson too as he was along there in those years. I worked with some grads from TJ at a chemical plant in beaumont for 33 years. I lived in Groves for a few years and my stepson graduated from TJ about 1981. By the way I really enjoy some of Janis Joplins music. bg

 

[HBarlow]

B. G. I didn't know Jimmy Johnson but remember him. He was a big jock and pretty self-important iirc. He is a year younger and in the class of '61, one year behind me. I admired him greatly when he was Cowboys coach. No one can deny he is one hell of a football coach and leader of young men.

I left PA before noticing or being aware of any talent Janice had. It may surprise some but I didn't know she was in music until I was in a small souvenir shop on Cape Cod with my family one day in the early '70s and saw a Janice Joplin poster. I was stunned. She had already burned out her candle and been dead for years then. I had no clue. I had never heard of her or heard her music. I was riding submarines and never had any interest in the drug culture or the music. I think Janice Joplin's music sucked. I listened to '50s rock and roll and still do today. Yep, I'm old fashioned.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Was she Republican or Democrat inquiring minds need to know

 

[Wayne M.]

Harvey, if you were old fashioned you'd insist on buying American. That's a cool story though.

 

[Wayne M.]

Harvey, I despise the double standard you exhibit for all who for one reason or another did not enter military service. I filled out my selective service card like all in my generation did. Uncle Sam could have had me if needed. In fact I was in talks with an Air Force recruiter while exiting high school. I couldn't deal with traveling abroad, and I felt a need to be near and expand my family where I was. I do often wonder what could have been if I did go in.

Once again, my post has nothing to do with being in a union.

 

[rscurtis]

I've had a few famous (and infamous) customers when I had my rental business on LI. The famous include the Dolan family (Cablevision and Newsday), Charles Wang (Computer Associates), Frank Zarb, (past chairman of the NYSE) Bobby Nystrom (NY Islanders), and actor Ed Lauter. Two of the infamous come to mind, one being prolific serial killer Joel Rifkin (murdered 18 prostitutes and got caught with the body of #18 in his PU when the license plate fell off), and Joseph Hazlewood, of Exxon Valdex fame. Joel was a customer for years, and I always wondered why he was always broke. Now I know.

 

[Wayne M.]

I've had a few famous (and infamous) customers when I had my rental business on LI. The famous include the Dolan family (Cablevision and Newsday), Charles Wang (Computer Associates), Frank Zarb, (past chairman of the NYSE) Bobby Nystrom (NY Islanders), and actor Ed Lauter. Two of the infamous come to mind, one being prolific serial killer Joel Rifkin (murdered 18 prostitutes and got caught with the body of #18 in his PU when the license plate fell off), and Joseph Hazlewood, of Exxon Valdex fame. Joel was a customer for years, and I always wondered why he was always broke. Now I know.

You lived in LI?

My FIL had an amazing experience with celebs. He was a commercial warehouseman in Manhattan. If you won something at Christie's, southeby's and the other big auction houses- say a piece of sculpture or art, he'd be one of the contractors to crate it and ship it for you. From that he also did moving jobs. His best stories involve Marlo Thomas.

 

[rscurtis]

You lived in LI?



My FIL had an amazing experience with celebs. He was a commercial warehouseman in Manhattan. If you won something at Christie's, southeby's and the other big auction houses- say a piece of sculpture or art, he'd be one of the contractors to crate it and ship it for you. From that he also did moving jobs. His best stories involve Marlo Thomas.

I lived on LI my entire life until 2008 when I got smart and escaped to Franklin county in PA before the "Big One" hit. I lived in Huntington and had a business in Syosset, a block away from the Syosset train station.

 

[Wayne M.]

I think the joke is on you. I never said you were a bad American. I merely questioned your old fashioned statement. Old fashioned means driving a Packard.

 

[Wayne M.]

I lived on LI my entire life until 2008 when I got smart and escaped to Franklin county in PA before the "Big One" hit. I lived in Huntington and had a business in Syosset, a block away from the Syosset train station.

Ditto for me too but the other island. I'm at 4 years to go.

 

[B.G. Smith]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7hk-hI0JKw Ahem, and back to the subject. bg

 

[JJPage]

I like some of Janis Joplin's songs, in small doses, like once a year. I'm not quite as mature as Harvey, for some reason I believed Harvey to be in my age bracket...
I attended elementary school(5th grade) in Janesville Minnesota with Patty Zimmerman, her brother Robert Zimmerman was two years older, Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan.

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

While I didn't agree with her flamboyant, drug-culture lifestyle, I did enjoy the amount of energy and compassion she put into her singing.
Barring disco, rap, thrash, and probably a few other types, I enjoy a variety of music styles from "long-hair" classical to high energy rock - as long as it is played by talented artists. Janice was very talented in my book. Who else could combine the emotion of the blues, with a pound or two of sand, then apply with a case of TNT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzNEgcqWDG4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEnL3FlbRko

 

[Tractorat]

She died so young, so we'll never know what her potential was. But for me, for the kind of music she sang, she has no peers. I have a cd in my car that I play quite a bit.

 

[wcoomes]

Harvey you continue to amaze me, but this time it wasn't your diesel knowledge. Did they ever put up a statue of her? I seem to remember some controversy about that.