Janis Joplin

From the book, "Shots: An American Photographer's Journey 1967-1972," a Feb. 11, 1969 image by photographer David Fenton shows Janis Joplin performing at the Fillmore East in New York.

Joplin would become one of the biggest stars of her time -- the greatest white female blues singer of the rock era, with a voice that could both blow your mind and break your heart.

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

Janis Joplin was born in 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas. Her father was an engineer at Texaco, her mother a school registrar.

Left: An undated photo of Janis Joplin with her mother, Dorothy, and younger sister, Laura.

A newspaper clipping featuring ninth grader Janis Joplin, whose early interests including painting.

"Teenager Janis Joplin stands by one of her several posters in the Gates Memorial Library where she works," reads the caption. "This particular one depicts a 'Wizard of Oz' book available for the younger set. Miss Joplin, an enthusiastic library worker, likes the job because it gives her a chance to do 'community service' as well as opportunities to use her talent."

Janis Joplin, in an undated family photo. In a 1969 interview Joplin said that her parents wanted her to become a school teacher, and that she did not start singing until she was 17. "I listened to a lot of music first. One day I started singin', and I could sing. It was like, it was a surprise, to say the least."

A 1958 school photo of Janis Joplin.

Janis (pictured with her parents and younger siblings, sister Laura and brother Michael) would describe herself as a misfit at school. She left Texas for San Francisco at age 20.

In 1966 Joplin first sang with Big Brother & the Holding Company, which prior to her joining had played more in the style of psychedelic rock.

From left: Drummer David Getz, Janis Joplin, and guitarists Sam Andrews, James Gurley and Peter Albin.

"Big Brothers & the Holding Company," released in Summer 1967, included the songs "Down on Me," and "Bye, Bye Baby."

Janis Joplin performing at the Monterey Pop Festival in Monterey, Calif. in 1967 -- a performance immortalized by D.A. Pennebaker in his documentary, "Monterey Pop," and witnessed by record producer Clive Davis, then the head of Columbia Records.

Left: An undated photo of Clive Davis (then the president of Columbia Records) and singer Janis Joplin.

Davis recalled to correspondent Anthony Mason his first experience seeing Joplin perform at the Monterey Pop Festival: "This group came on stage called just Big Brother and the Holding Company, and this whirling dervish, this electrifying white soul singer was so riveting. And I'm seeing this and I said, 'My God, this is a musical revolution.'"

Davis signed Big Brother. Their first album for Columbia, "Cheap Thrills," would give Janis her first hit.

The group's first record for Columbia, "Cheap Thrills," was released in 1968. It went to Number 1 on the Billboard chart, and included such classic tracks as "Piece of My Heart" and "Ball and Chain."

In a 1968 East Coast tour singer Janis Joplin returned to the Newport Folk Festival with her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, in this July 29, 1968 file photo.

Janis Joplin parted ways with Big Brother & the Holding Company the following year.

"I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!" (1969) was Joplin's first solo album, which hewed closer to her hard rock/blues sensibility than Big Brother's psychedelic rock. Joplin was backed by the Kozmic Blues Band.

The album included "Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)," "To Love Somebody" and "Kozmic Blues."

Rock-folk singer Janis Joplin performs with her group in Dec. 1969.

A 1970 publicity photo of Janis Joplin.

Joplin had developed a weakness for Southern Comfort and heroin. On October 4, 1970, while recording her solo album "Pearl," she was found dead of an accidental heroin overdose in a hotel room in Hollywood, Calif. She was 27 years old.

Pearl," recorded by Janis Joplin in 1970 (with the Full Tilt Boogie Band), was released posthumously the following year. It rose to Number 1 on the Billboard charts.

The album includes the Number 1 hit, "Me and Bobby McGee"; "Trust Me"; "Cry Baby"; and the a capella "Mercedes Benz."

Michael and Laura Joplin are in charge of her sister's estate. When asked by Anthony Mason how it feels to be in charge of this legacy now, Laura said, "Janis means a lot of things to a lot of people. She's important in Japan. She's important in Brazil. She's important in Germany. You know, but she's got to be a little different in all those places. And it's important to allow her to have her own identity."

"How do you do that?" Mason asked.

"By not defining her," Laura Joplin replied.

An undated photo of singer Janis Joplin (1943-1970).

For more info: Big Brother & the Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin (Sony Legacy official site)
"Janis Joplin: Classic LP Collection" (Sony Legacy box set)
janisjoplin.com
"A Night With Janis Joplin", Lyceum Theatre
"Monterey Pop" by D.A. Pennebaker (Criterion Collection Blu-Ray/DVD)

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan