On the Road with Janis Joplin

January 5, 2015
From 1967 to 1970, Cooke was the tour manager for Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company, giving him a first-hand view of Joplin's ascent to stardom, her reaction to fame, and her untimely death from a drug overdose. As someone who worked for and also befriended Joplin, Cooke has a unique perspective, writing both about his own experiences on the road and painting a picture that covers the full spectrum of Joplin's personality as an artist and a person, as well as the world she lived in. An accomplished musician himself, Cooke is able to write about Joplin's music with not only the critical precision of an expert but also the unmitigated joy of a peer who knows exactly how amazing her talent as a singer and performer really was. The key to Cooke's success in writing about such a dynamic character lies in the fact that he, too, is a strong presence. His own story, which includes working at the Monterey Pop festival where he first saw Joplin perform, fighting for his job when Big Brother wanted to fire him, and finding Joplin's lifeless body in her hotel room, gives a weight to his writing that makes this work poignant and important. Though it only covers the last three of her 27 years, all these factors combine with Cooke's insider perspective to make this the most thorough exploration written about Joplin's life. B+W photos