Holly George-Warren

Its been said Janis Joplin was second only to Bob Dylan as the creator-recorder-embodiment of her generations mythology. But how did a middle-class girl from Texas become a 60s countercultural icon? Janis parents doted on her and promoted her early talent for art. But the arrival of a brother shattered the bond she had with her intellectual maverick of a father, an oil engineer. And her own maverick instincts alienated her from her socially conformist mother. That break with her parents, along with the rejection of her high school peers, who disapproved of her beatnik look and racially progressive views, and wrongly assumed she was sexually promiscuous, cemented her sense of herself as an outcast. She found her tribe with a group of offbeat young men a year ahead of her, who loved her intellectual curiosity, her passion for conversation, and her adventurous search for the blues. Although she never stopped craving the approval of her parents and hometown, she left Port Arthur at seventeen determined to prove she could be loved. She tried college twice, and dropped out both times. She ran off to California, but came back when her heavy drug use scared her into it. She almost signed up for a life as a domesticated, hang-the-curtains wife. But instead, during a second stint on the West Coast, she launched a career that would see her crowned the queen of rock and roll. What no one besides Holly George-Warren has captured in such intimate detail is the way Janis Joplin teetered between the powerful woman you hear in her songs and the little girl who just wanted to go home and feel emotionally safe there. The pain of that dichotomy fuelled her music and ultimately killed her.

Longlisted for the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence This blazingly intimate biography of Janis Joplin establishes the Queen of Rock & Roll as the rule-breaking musical trailblazer and complicated, gender-bending rebel she was.Janis Joplins first transgressive act was to be a white girl who gained an early sense of the power of the blues, music you could only find on obscure records and in roadhouses along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. But even before that, she stood out in her conservative oil town. She was a tomboy who was also intellectually curious and artistic. By the time she reached high school, she had drawn the scorn of her peers for her embrace of the Beats and her racially progressive views. Her parents doted on her in many ways, but were ultimately put off by her repeated acts of defiance.Janis Joplin has passed into legend as a brash, impassioned soul doomed by the pain that produced one of the most extraordinary voices in rock history. But in these pages, Holly George-Warren provides a revelatory and deeply satisfying portrait of a woman who wasnt all about suffering. Janis was a perfectionist: a passionate, erudite musician who was born with talent but also worked exceptionally hard to develop it. She was a woman who pushed the boundaries of gender and sexuality long before it was socially acceptable. She was a sensitive seeker who wanted to marry and settle downbut couldnt, or wouldnt. She was a Texan who yearned to flee Texas but could never quite get awayeven after becoming a countercultural icon in San Francisco.Written by one of the most highly regarded chroniclers of American music history, and based on unprecedented access to Janis Joplins family, friends, band mates, archives, and long-lost interviews, Janis is a complex, rewarding portrait of a remarkable artist finally getting her due.

The first biography of the artist who essentially invented indie and alternative rock (Spin)A brilliant and influential songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, the charismatic Alex Chilton was more than a rock starhe was a true cult icon. Awardwinning music writer Holly George-Warrens A Man Called Destruction is the first biography of this enigmatic artist, who died in 2010. Covering Chiltons life from his early work with the charttopping Box Tops and the seminal power-pop band Big Star to his experiments with punk and roots music and his sprawling solo career, A Man Called Destruction is the story of a musical icon and a richly detailed chronicle of pop musics evolution, from the mid-1960s through todays indie rock.

The 1840s ushered in the beginning of the largest migration in US history. People in crowded Eastern cities and Missouri River towns were feeling the pull of the Western frontier. It was the dawn of a new era of expansion, and over the next few decades, the making of a new kind of pioneer. It was the birth of the cowgirl!Welcome to the world of nimble equestriennes, hawkeyed sharpshooters, sly outlaws, eloquent legislators, expert wranglers and talented performers who made eyes pop and jaws drop with their skills, savvy and bravery. In this fascinating account of an ever-evolving American icon, Holly George-Warren invites readers to saddle up with a host of these trailblazers who helped settle the West and define the cowgirl spirit.

In John Varvatos, the legendary designer reveals his perspective on how rock & roll music and style have influenced his own designs and fashion worldwide. Varvatoss personally curated collection of more than 250 images are some of the most provocative ever shot by top rock photographers from the late 1960s to today, from the Rolling Stones to the Kings of Leon. The featured photographers are among the worlds finest, including Mick Rock, Bob Gruen, Elliott Landy, Danny Clinch, Lynn Goldsmith, and more. Also included are select images from Varvatoss own advertising campaigns, featuring artists such as Slash, Iggy Pop, Scott Weiland, and Miles Kane. Varvatoss captions and incisive commentary on the artist and his or her look accompany each image. Every chapter also contains numerous quotes from the musicians themselves, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, Jack White, Pete Townshend, Robert Plant, Steven Tyler, and Patti Smith. An extraordinary anthology of some of the finest images in rock & roll and the most influential rock looks in fashion and popular culture, this volume will delight music lovers, and fans of music photography, fashion, and fashion history.

La biografía explosivamente íntima que consagra a la reina del rock como la gran revolucionaria musical, la pionera mujer que dinamitó para siempre las fronteras de género en la música. Janis Joplin ha pasado a la historia como un alma impulsiva y apasionada, un ser con un destino sentenciado por el dolor que generaba una de las voces mas extraordinarias que ha dado la historia del rock. La celebre autora y biografa Holly George-Warren fue elegida expresamente por el Janis Joplin Estate para escribir el libro definitivo sobre su vida y su musica, un complejo retrato revelador y profundo de una artista extraordinaria. Asi, los hermanos de Joplin, Laura y Michael Joplin, proporcionaron a George-Warren acceso exclusivo y privilegiado a miles de archivos, documentos, incluidas transcripciones, correspondencias, fotografias, entrevistas perdidas y recuerdos, asi como el acceso directo a la familia, compañeros de banda y amigos de la cantante. Joplin fue una leyenda del rock, una perfeccionista, una musica erudita y apasionada que poseia un talento innato, pero su musica no habia sido aun examinada a fondo en biografias anteriores. Su estilo vocal lleno la brecha entre el blues tradicional y el hard rock, y sus actuaciones mostraron que su estilo podia ser sensual y romper a la vez los roles tradicionales de genero. Cuando produjo su ultimo album, Pearl, Joplin estaba explorando una variedad de generos que habia absorbido en su Texas natal, incluyendo folk, country, blues, jazz, pop y gospel, asi como los diferentes estilos de rock, psicodelia, soul y funk. Desde su colorido guardarropa hasta sus comentarios ingeniosos y extraordinariamente abiertos a los medios, Janis Joplin se convirtio en un icono en sus propios terminos. Sin embargo, su impacto en la musica y la cultura popular sigue siendo extrañamente subestimado en los libros sobre la historia del rock. Esta biografia corrige por fin esta distorsion.

Janis Joplin ha pasado a la historia como un alma impulsiva y apasionada, un ser con un destino sentenciado por el dolor que generaba una de las voces más extraordinarias que ha dado la historia del rock. Joplin fue una leyenda del rock, una perfeccionista, una musica erudita y apasionada que poseia un talento innato. Su estilo vocal lleno la brecha entre el blues tradicional y el hard rock, y sus actuaciones mostraron que su estilo podia ser sensual y romper a la vez los roles tradicionales de genero. Desde su colorido guardarropa hasta sus comentarios ingeniosos y extraordinariamente abiertos a los medios, Janis Joplin se convirtio en un icono. Sin embargo, su impacto en la musica y la cultura popular sigue siendo extrañamente subestimado en los libros sobre la historia del rock. Esta biografia corrige por fin esta distorsion.