Big Brother & The Holding Company

Big Brother and the Holding Company was the group that backed 1960s blues-rock siren Janis Joplin. Their hallucinogenic charm lies in the gulf between the roots music they loved and the electrically charged, psychedelic-tinged music they actually played. Brimming with casual confidence and empowered by a sense of community, this band mixed free-spirited innovation with total honesty and commitment. At the end of the decade, Joplin departed for a solo career, though she would tragically depart from the world itself soon after.

• rock
• pop