"Janis: Her Life and Music": Holly George-Warren Discusses Her New Biography on Joplin

The acclaimed singer Janis Joplin (1943-1970) passed into legend as a brash, impassioned soul and one of the most extraordinary voices in rock history. In a blazingly intimate biography, Holly George-Warren provides a revelatory portrait of this erudite musician, based on unprecedented access to Joplin’s family, friends, band mates, archives, and long-lost interviews.
 

WGBH News' Henry Santoro interviews Holly George-Warren about  Janis Joplin, with a performance by singer-songwriter Susan Cattaneo. Warren is a two-time Grammy nominee and the award-winning author of sixteen books, including the New York Times bestseller The Road to Woodstock (with Michael Lang) and the biographies A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton and Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry. She has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly. George-Warren serves on the nominating committee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and teaches at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

This author’s discussion is part of the venerable New England Historical Genealogical Society’s “American Inspiration Author Series” which launched this fall.  The series highlights inspiring Americans in our nation’s history. Today’s most acclaimed authors will discuss their latest works exploring themes of personal identity; families and immigration; and cultural, political and social history.  Each discussion is followed by a Q&A session and book signing.