I think sadly enough for me Janis covering Kris Kristofferson's wonderful love song 'Me and Bobby McGee' is largely associated with Janis' death. The news came through before I heard this and when it did come out over here it was almost unbearable to listen to. I had left her recordings alone a bit after 'Cheap Thrills' [still a favourite album] and didn't always enjoy The Kosmic Blues band's efforts but the news of her death when it come over the airwaves hit us hard. Found dead of a heroin overdoes in the Landmark Hotel, Los Angeles California (The Landmark according to Dave Crosby popular with musicians because it was on a strip where the dealers had easy access - sic) she had cleaned up her act and allegedly had been clean for about 6 months. As often happens and I have seen far too often, the number of heroin users who stop and start often get the dose wrong or seriously underestimate it and go over. It is easy to assume you need the amount you last used and take more than you can cope with and this seems to have been what happened to Janis. The strength of the smack has also been referred to. This it seems is what killed Sid Vicious amongst so many others. Why she decided to take a hit is anyone's guess although boredom has been cited and she had a spell of upcoming plans and happiness, preparing to record and new songs and a new beau [Seth Morgan] she was allegedly about to marry who was independently wealthy, she seemingly at 27 had everything to live for but heroin doesn't work like that . . . . .

"The heroin Janis used that night she had purchased around 4PM that afternoon from George, her supplier for as long as she used the drug," writes Joplin's sister Laura in Love, Janis. "She was careful to use only one supplier, and he was careful about what he sold. Usually, he had a chemist check the drug before he sold it. For that batch, the chemist had been out of town. He had sold the dope without checking it. The dope Janis had bought that Saturday was four to ten times stronger than normal street heroin. It was 40 to 50 percent pure."

'freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose . . . . . . '

On this day in music history: March 20, 1971 - “Me And Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks. Written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, it is the biggest hit for the rock vocal icon. While working as a songwriter on Nashville’s Music Row, Kristofferson pens “Me And Bobby McGee with Monument Records founder Fred Foster. After it’s written, it is initially promised to The Staler Brothers, but before they have the chance, it is recorded by country music star Roger Miller. The song is also covered by Gordon Lightfoot and by Kris Kristofferson himself on his first album "Kristofferson” released in 1970. In Miller, Lightfoot, and Kristofferson’s versions, the character “Bobby McGee” is actually female. In mid 1970, Kris meets Janis Joplin and the two have a brief affair before parting ways. Joplin likes “Bobby McGee” so much that she records it for her next album, altering some of the lyrics to make the protagonist male in her version. Tragically, Janis dies of an accidental drug overdose just three days after recording her lead vocal on the song. Released as the first single from her final album “Pearl” on January 11, 1971, it is an immediate hit. Entering the Hot 100 at #94 on January 30, 1971, it climbs to the top of the chart seven weeks later. “Bobby McGee” becomes only the second posthumous number one single of the rock era after Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”, three years and one week later. The success of “Me And Bobby McGee” propels the album “Pearl” to number one, spending nine weeks at the top, and selling over four million copies in the US alone.

thanks to the most excellent Jeff Harris' blog 'Behind The Grooves