1 / 20 photos Janis Joplin

While growing up in Port Arthur, Texas, Janis Joplin developed a love for music at a young age. She showed promise as a performer while singing in the church choir.

Janis Joplin was musically inspired by Bessie Smith, as well as folk pioneers Ma Rainey and Odetta.

During her time at the University of Texas at Austin in the early 1960s, Joplin began performing at folksings on campus and at local venues. Either performing solo or with her friends the Waller Creek Boys, her unique voice gained attention early on.

In 1966, Joplin traveled to San Francisco to audition for Big Brother and the Holding Company. The band consisted of James Gurley, Dave Getz, Peter Albin, and Sam Andrew. Initially, Joplin only played the tambourine and sang background on a few songs.

Big Brother performed at the now legendary Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Joplin's performance of Big Mama Thornton's Ball and Chain was especially notable and the acclaim she received caused tension between the band mates.

Due to their successful performance at Monterey, the president of Columbia Records, Clive Davis, was interested in signing Big Brother to his label.

Big Brother and the Holding Company's first Columbia record, Cheap Thrills, was a huge hit. The record included Piece of My Heart and Summertime. Despite the album's success, Joplin felt like the band was holding her back professionally.

Janis Joplin is seen here dining with fellow musician Paul Morrissey and artist Andy Warhol at Max's Kansas City in 1968.

Joplin struggled with leaving Big Brother due to the close relationship she had with the members of the band. She performed with them for the last time in December of 1968.

Janis Joplin performed with her new band the Kozmic Blues Band at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. According to many sources, Joplin's performance was impacted negatively by her prolonged drinking and drug use throughout the day.

On his television show This is Tom Jones in 1969, Welsh singer Tom Jones and Janis Joplin performed a duet.

Joplin's rampant drug use was very obvious to attendees at a Madison Square Garden show. Joplin told rock reporter David Dalton that she got the impression the audience wasn't sure if she would make it through the performance.

By 1969, Joplin was reportedly using at least two hundred dollars worth of heroin per day.

Joplin's first solo effort, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, was recorded in 1969. The album, which met with mixed reviews, included Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) and a cover of the Bee Gees' To Love Somebody.

In April of 1970, Joplin performed a reunion show with Big Brother and the Holding Company in San Francisco.

After a long battle with substance abuse, Janis Joplin died from an accidental heroin overdose on October 4, 1970 at a Hollywood hotel.

Sadly, Joplin's final album release was her most successful.

Bette Midler won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mary Rose Foster in the 1979 film The Rose, which was loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin.

Zooey Deschanel is set to star in a new Joplin biopic entitled Gospel According to Janis, directed by Penelope Spheeris.

Despite her untimely death, Janis Joplin's legacy as a musical icon is undeniable. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a posthumous Grammy for Lifetime Achivement in 2005.