San Francisco - Tales from the Haight - Janis Joplin & Big Brother in 1967
2023 ж. 3 Шіл.
125 922 Рет қаралды
Janis Joplin & Big Brother & The Holding Company Spent a brief 3 years together from 1966 to early 1969. Most of this time was spent in the Haight Ashbury District of San Francisco. Today we take a look at Their rise & fall during this brief period as well as Janis's untimely death.
I saw Janis @ Fillmore East in 1969 and my best friend and I, along with many others, rushed to the stage front and managed to be right on the edge at her feet watching in awe of her amazing talent. She had a bottle of Southern Comfort in hand while belting out, Piece of My Heart. She was swaying and rocking and suddenly fell toward us. We all caught her and raised her back up in seconds! She took a breath and stated, "You see, there are still some gentlemen in the world!" The bottle never left her hand.
Cool, but a bit sad! You were very lucky to see her. She passed away before I was born!
Love it and it ain't sad! I have seen many stumble with their glass in hand not spill a drop. Janis had a painful youth and she as many others like her do we drink or get high at an early age. As long as the truth is faced up to soon it can be okay. Ignore it and it won't go away.
That is just too cool!! Rest in Peace Janis, we love and miss you!!
Thanks for sharing. You'll take that experience with you to that great gig in the sky, man ☮
Sounds to me like she was out of control. Not cool. Drugs and booze do NOTHING for people.
Great content! I was a 14 year old runaway in the Haight in the summer of '66. The music I heard in Golden Gate Park was unforgettable. Thank you for the memories.
Nicely done and really enjoyed it. I never got to see Janis unfortunately , but about 25 years ago, a mutual friend of Big Brothers and myself spent an entire night with all the guys from Big Brother except James Gurley. In between their sets they shared our little high top table and Dave Getz, Peter Albin, and Sam Andrew all sat right across from me two feet away and I was starstruck but managed to have great conversations. They had a girl singer with them called Lisa Battle who was excellent, incredibly powerful voice and I told them that she was really good because to be honest, she was being ignored and I felt sorry for her. When I complimented her, Peter Albin said to me "yeah, Janis had that scratchy voice." I think he was still pissed off at her for leaving the band all those years before. The girl I was with who had known Big Brother in San Francisco back in the day, she was actually with James Gurley the night his wife died. My old friend Pauly, who I just heard from today and who now lives up in Eureka, California, he knew Janis and all the guys back in the day, spent time with them, and he occasionally tells the story of the night he and his good friend, who was Janis's gynecologist, had to run down to the Fillmore because Janis's IUD got stuck. Pauly had to hold the flashlight while his friend fished the IUD out while Janis laid down on a piano LOL. Probably too much information but that is a true story. Pauly was also good friends and roommates with Robert Crumb, who designed the cover for Big Brothers famous album Cheap Thrills, and Pauly was at one time married to Robert's first wife Dana. In fact, about 23 years ago, Robert's son built the back steps on my then house. I have a signed note with a little drawing that Janis did framed in my house, as well as three original 1960s posters, two from the Fillmore and one from the Avalon Ballroom. I bought them many many years ago at Postermat in North Beach in San Francisco. Sam Andrew also wrote me a nice little note once and I still have his business card that he gave me. He was such a great guy. Anyway, sorry for rambling. Again this was very good and really enjoyed it. One of my favorite bands and huge Janis fan all my life
Thank you so much! I appreciate the positive feedback & I love your stories! How very fortunate you are!
Great story, only Janis would have her iud removed while lying on a piano!!
Great stories! I knew Sam towards the end (not well, but well enough to have some cool conversations) and I suspect you're right about Peter still being bitter. He and James never really got past Janis leaving, or ever really forgave her. Sam was quite blunt about that, and it was one of the many things that caused tension among the guys. James, too, was a problem from beginning to end. Getz would later say that they should have taken Albert Grossman's advice way back when and kicked James out of the group to get a more conventional guitarist who could adapt to more types of music than the freak-rock that James was limited to. Janis might have stayed with the band if they were more adaptable to expanding their boundaries (and if they were more willing to put in the work and practice, which apparently James resisted always). But who knows. There are always "what ifs."
@@badguitar5653 Hey thnx! wow great that you got to converse with him. He was a real gentleman. Oddly enough, my favorite of Janis's music is that which she did with Big Brother, but I can understand why she had to leave if she wanted to grow. I can also understand their bitterness, they were just on the brink of then making it big once Janis had joined them, and then they never really did, though they are "big" to me. But Janis said that she loved those guys more than anybody, and I believe she did.
She was one of the greatest sixties singers!!!!! For me...the greatest!
Saw Janis Labor Day weekend at the Texas International Pop Festival. Came on stage around 1am. Memorable!
That would have been 1969.
Saw her a few weeks before then at Atlantic City Pop Festival. Managed to get backstage before she went on. She was definitely a wild fun-loving woman!
Hallo and a big Thank You from Berlin, I love this period and of course Janis !
Thank you for all of the information, and a really long leap back into a world almost lost to father time.
Almost lost?....It's all over the tube,written and talked about endlessly. Like when people say sex is the 'Great Taboo' and everybody talks about it😂
Glad she went down in history because she fought hard and had a sad teen years
Linda Gravenites was a very talented woman. She designed incredible clothes for Janis to wear on stage and a beautiful chiffon outfit Janis wore to a party that Clive Davis threw at his high class apartment. Janis was late and she blew everyone away with her chiffon ensemble until she got closer and it was obvious to all she was high on heroin. Many were aghast at the sight of her. Linda was a calming influence for Janis and one of the few true friends Janis had that could cut the crap that flunkys and hangers on which Janis attracted the more famous she became. Linda and Janis were flatmates until Janis blew it and Nancy m9ved out. She cried on the phone to Linda who hated heroin that she wouldn't be a junkie forever. Dear Linda left us in 2002. Forever laidback, true blue genuine amazing woman. RiP Linda.
Wow! I did not know any of this! I am not surprised! Linda seemed very nice too! So sad that all of the ladies we are talking about are long gone:'( Thx
huh?
I knew Linda and Nancy Gurley very well. I used to baby sit Hongo for James and Nancy when I was a teenager in SF. For my 16th birthday Linda and Nancy came over to where I was living on Fell street and gave me a loaf of home made bread they had baked for me wrapped in hand died purple lace along with a ceramic skull they had picked up somewhere.. I was with James and Nancy early on the day she passed away. I caught a ride with them early that morning as I was heading up to a ranch I was living part time on in Novato and they dropped me of on their way to the Russian river...
@@TerryNails It is amazing of you to relate your story of Nancy
I'm so rapt that you knew both these women. I've read about them and I saw on TV a few years back on the Roseanne show, one of her guests was Linda Granvenites. I was so thrilled to see her. By then she was in her middle or late sixties. It was a hoot when Roseanne announced that she could sing as well as Janis! The look gave Roseanne was classic understatement! Then Roseanne screeched and the audience went into hysterics! Hongo would be in his middle 50's, I think. Thank you so much for your comments. I'm thrilled!!
Been there since but alas not in the 60s.Rog.Pacific Sunset Records.Great Historic account of the happenings there.Thanks.
Super rétrospective de la plus grande blueswoman et de ses copains du Big Brother. J'avais 18 ans, je passais par là. Dommage que nous n'ayons pas plus d'infos sur Linda Gravenites et Nancy Gurley. Encore merci pour cette belle rétrospective. In memorty to you.
Nancy Gurley died of heroin od injected by James. "She couldn't hit a vein and he was just trying to help" He was tried but acquitted of murder
Having grown up in the north bay (Napa ca.) I really appreciate you sharing this..have a great summer ☮️🌎
That was a great account of some of my faves... I am in my 80's as well.
Cheap Thrills still one of my favorite albums, purchased 1969.
My grandmother lived across the street from the Dead on Ashbury and her mom lived on the corner of Haight and Clayton when i was a kid.
Wonderful and informative. Why are my memories of the Bay Area in the late 1960s more vivid that my memories of anywhere in the 21st century?
This is so GREAT! I have loved Janis since the minute I first heard her cry out in the wilderness. I was only 13 at the time, and yet I knew she was a force I'd be swept away with for the rest of my days. It is perpetually heartbreaking that she died SO YOUNG, and TOO SOON. Thanks for this video - it keeps them all alive. Can you tell me, please, what music is playing in this video? It's stirring! Peace be with you. 💚
Hi there! Thank you so much for your appreciation. The music is from epidemic sound & it is called "Ghetto Dreamin'". I almost went with a different tune but I loved the beginning lead in so much I went with it. Glad I did people seem to really enjoy it.
Amazing video. Great history. I miss Janis. She was such a tortured soul who was only truly alive on stage. Every time I see a picture of her I just want to give her a hug and tell her it will be okay.
Excellent content, just loved the video.
I met Janis at the peoples park in SF what a delicious gal she was in a hurry to meet up with others but took the time to burn a joint with us there then she rushed off to get back where she belonged. It was a very good experience for a youngster like myself, she had a laugh that brought you into real so strong. I miss her!
If you try a little harder, you can hear her laughing out loud to this day. We miss her too! 7:33
wow..thank-you 4all tjis info.!!!!im-spell-bound..with d. gurleys guitar jammen in my mind..yup-at 66 years old!!!
Cool . I saw them at Monterey Pop and they were good . Drunk but good. :O)
I think "Big Brother and the Holding Company" is one of the best names for a '60's psychedelic rock n roll/blues band EVER!!!
Strawberry Alarm Clock.
@@aarondigby5054 And Quicksilver Messenger Service!
Heard if quicksilver but not these guys. I will have to check them out!
Grateful Dead
@@garywells9478 They were the Warlocks pre-Grateful Dead. I like the name they ended up with best!
Excellent video! Very good summing up of the group's history. One quick correction: Janis didn't purchase the home in Larkspur until Dec. 1969 (and I don't think she fully moved in till early '70, but I could be mistaken there; but she definitely was still living in apartments in the Haight area through her fame in 1968. Also, are we sure that Nancy G was pregnant when she died? I've never heard that.
I read that in Peggy Caserta's book, I believe. I am assuming it's true.
Finally got to the Groovy area, in April 88. Still far out. Wondering what killed the movement? Have been to the motel, where she broke on thru. Great tribute to one of the best!
Excellent video! Sam Andrew was a fantastic psychedelic electric guitarist.
Last time I was on the Haight was 2014. With my father and a Canadian friend Still love this place. Jerry forever. The band that came from here are LEDGEND. Peace and joy 😊 thanks ❤️ 8888
I saw Janis with Full Tilt Boogie in 1969. She was amazing. You felt as if she was singing to you, personally.
Thank you!
Thanks so much for posting. Incredible talent. Can anyone tell me the songs / background music of this video Peace all
Thank you for watching! The background song is ghetto dreamin' from epidemic sound!
My cousin was an intamate of Janis....stories of her Porsche.
Thanks for sharing! Saw Janis at Woodstock! I am going to embarrass myself and ask what is the background music for this video?
It is called Ghetto Dreamin' from epidemic sound which is a music program & not a band! Thanks for the comment!
I do feel like belting music like her. Intense and passion doesn't cover it.
A ton of Rock history intertwined with Bay Area history here. I heard of Janis back when she was doing gigs at that little mountain bar in the Santa Cruz mountains, but never had the chance to see her. I was a little young. Good history.
This is an amazingly informative story og Big Brother. First time I've Janis's Larkspur home. I wonder why Janis's family sold the house? Or was through her lawyer and financial manager, Bob Gordon? I don't know.😮
Ànd then, in the summer of that year of '67, into that Haight/Ashbury scene, where pimps, drug dealers and other predatory dogs came to prey on the young lambs flocking there, arrives a freshly released from prison, sexually intensed charmer known as Charles Manson. This was his hunting ground and the little girls fell easily.
Yes, check out my other video which talks about his time in the Haight. Thanks for watching & commenting!
Her manager totally screwed her up; he didn’t give a crap about Janis, she was his 💰 ticket. Talked with a friend of hers back then, direct from him. He tried to get him to get her into treatment and away from the hangers on. Love anything Janis Joplin, Pearl was so special the likes of which we’ll never see again. RIP🥀🕊️
Hmm, not sure about that. Grossman was the one who convinced her to vacation in Brazil to get clean, and even paid for her methadone treatments. Could he have done more? Yes. Everyone could have. And it likely wouldn't have made one bit of difference. Addicts can't be helped unless they want to help themselves, and she didn't.
Fantástico! Janes forever. From Brasil
Janis briefly attended the University of Texas at Austin.
Her spirit was gigantic
JANIS JOPLIN was a lead singer she wasn't a back up singer and Janis could also sing the blues she had a voice of her own yes Janis could really sing the 196OS was when some of the best music 🎶 😊 was made it was the change in the music 🎶 😊 that never look back again and all the people be 4 and during that all had a ear 👂4 music 🎶 😊 it a part of sound and the music 🎶 🎉 they made OMG 7 25 2O23
I moved from CA to NY in 1969 and made my mom stop and get Janis Joplin tickets before we even moved in to our new apt.
Just to let everyone know, maybe they already do, but big brother and the holding company it means they were the ones with the stash, the "holding" company, get it. So if you needed something, they're usually holding.
I met Janis in 1966 when she was living with Barbara Moffet on Ashbury.street Barbara was a member of Family Dog. She had a daughter named Summer. I met and hung out with the other members of Holding Company. I moved into David Getz apartment on Ivy Alley when he moved late 1967. I was ata Barbara's when all of Big Brother and Greatful dead watched themselves for first time on local news. Does anyone remember Barbara? In the famous photo of all the Family Dog she is almost in the exact center
Did she live with her on the 2nd floor of 635 ashbury? That place is for sale btw. I might try to get a look at it. Apartment buildings rarely have open houses here. I was aware of the commune but not the rock group. I will have to check it out.
Who was at Barnes Park(Monterey Park,Ca.) 4 The Janis Joplin Concert. Couple of Bucks At The Time 67 68
linda
Read that John Cipollina was in love with Janis, so sad about her early demise.
I have the 1st album
Would have been nice if somebody coached the woman doing the VO on how to pronounce "Gravenites."
Very Nice….
Does anyone know where the classic photos of Janis and Pigpen from the Grateful Dead were taken?
I thought it was in front of 710 ashbury grateful dead house but maybe not.
@@culturalcurio2858 i think so too,
I lived in California during that time and our family would drive by the park with more hippies in one area before 😂. I lived there until 1969. Different times back then
❤
She was hooked up with a Hells Angels member too.
Yes. Freewheeling Frank I think he was called. The Frisco (hate that term) hells angels emblem on the right hand bottom corner of cheap thrills was inspired by her time with Frank!
I miss the Haight
I feel very fortunate to be so close to it. Too bad nothing is affordable right now in San Francisco.
How do you call something the holding company
Poor Peggy Caserta. She was actually beaten up by the ghost written book, "Going Down with Janis", as she stated in her memoir published in 2018 called, " I ran into some trouble". She's been accused of getting Janis hooked back on heroin. Even some say she's toxic. That's hard and tough. Is she really the orge that she made out to be. Or is because was Janis's lover and a female?
She had a really tough life too. According to the book janis got her started but who knows? Both books are a worthwhile read though. The research I have done has Janis messing with h & meth as well as alcohol pretty early on. May sheRIP either way!
Peggy Caserta is still alive in her 80's. One of the few of Janis's generation to still be alive. Like Peter Albin and Dave Getz.
I know Peggy. She's wonderful. A smart, insightful person who took way too much of the blame for Janis' death. No one is responsible for an addict but the addict.
I saw Janis in Toronto at Festival Express in 1970. Full Tilt Boogie was a tight band, but I like Big Brother a lot more. Wish she had stayed with them.
tell me all about it please!
@@rubyjames3105 I was 16. Of course, I was tripping. I don't really remember the songs. I just remember that Janis' performance left me overwhelmed with emotion. Tears were streaming down my face. Even now, when I listen to Janis quivers run up my spine.
@@garywells9478 thanks dude, I missed it by a decade. In fact, i never got to see janis at all, I was stuck in a shitty little sawmill town in northern BC and missed it all. Thanks for the memories, I guess that makes you the rock and roll OG!
@@rubyjames3105 I don't know what 'OG' means.
@@garywells9478 original gangster, it's something the kids say, lol. take good care of yourself and thanks again.
I'll never understand why they didn't sign with a Bay Area label instead of Mainstream.
You keep showing that photo of that house that isn't 1090 Page St. Why not just poach the image from Google Maps and show the actual house?
That is the actual 1090 page st. It burnt down in the early 70s. I live here and put the new small condo complex which was built on part of the property in my other haight st summer of love video.
@@culturalcurio2858 - O. Thank you for that. I'll tell you what... they sure did a good job designing the house to fit the neighborhood.
Where done
Most of Big
Is the Narrator Janis's sister, Laura or the amazing rock woman, Melissa Etheridge. 🎉😂
Just lil ole me out in Cali!
Wow, great voice for a Narrator!
Don't be so modest. You bloody good.
Is Grace Slick narrating this?
too bad about your bird
Her birds are perfectly fine
@@roquesierra-cel8430 lol
Thank you for your negative comments
@@roquesierra-cel8430 lol.
@@roquesierra-cel8430 thanks for being a comment cop
And now look at it...San Fran is cesspool. Sad 😞
Didnt the Drummer Move To fairfax?
I wouldn't be surprised. A lot of the former 60s & 80s stars seem to love Marin county. Thank you for watching!
Great video! Janis wanted horns in the band. Big brother was heavy group into experimental. I respect (big brother)the mountain king and the guitar playing on cheap thrills. I don't care for janis. I remember this lady who saw Janis in San Francisco. Said she never heard a women cuss like that on stage." Big brother was not all impressed with Janis voice. Big brother said their first impression of Janis was she dressed like their mother from Texas.
I have always thought that Big Brother and the Holding Company was a very loose band and not really suitable for Janis Joplin.
Hey it beats yall going to hell on your own private security wagon.
Too bad you kept mispronouncing Gravenites. 🤨
The chirping birds sounds are annoying.
I love the chirping birds so cute
Me and My Baba Ganoush!
I LOVE JANIS, But this soundtrack, the text, and the reporter are really bad, she has little to no enthusiasm for janis or blues or rock music 😢
Fine slideshow, terrible narrator. Flat, droning, stumbling over script-reading.
Lucky that I saw her and Big Brother in Vancouver the back up band Was Chicago Transit Authority before they became just Chicago. The next time I saw her was with Festival Express in Calgary soooo lucky
Yes, if I would be super happy if I had that chance too. Good for you.
I have wondered about the demise of the band soon after Janis died.
Cheap Thrills was Janis' best. An all time great singer, she died just down the street from where I lived in the Hollywood neighborhood referred to as "the jungle.."
I feel the same. I love cheap thrills. I wish she could have stayed with big brother. They would have done amazing things together.
❤