The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, or so they say. It was certainly true for legendary musician Janis Joplin, who shook up the music scene, and graced us with her wonderful talent, even if it was for only a short time.
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Janis Joplin, sadly, only lived until 27. But, in that time, she accomplished more than most will in their lives. She played Woodstock, produced four monumental albums, and still stands as one of the best-selling female vocalists in the USA.
But, her affinity for the bottle and harder substances lead to her untimely demise. In 1970 she slipped off the mortal coil. It seems she was ready for it, however, as Janis Joplin had already organized and paid for her own wake. When you live a life like the one she did, it's always a possibility I guess.
Party Starting From Beyond The Grave
In her will, written before the age of 27, she allotted a part of her estate to make sure she went out with a bang. Janis Joplin instructed her body to be cremated, and $2,500 to "cause a gathering of my friends and acquaintances at a suitable location as a final gesture of appreciation and farewell to such friends and acquaintances."
That comes to an equivalent of more than $20,000 in today's money. That's a fair sum for a wake, for sure. The wake was held at Larkspur, outside San Francisco, where Janis Joplin owned a home. According to her friend, Peter Coyote, it was quite the event too.
People flocked in like buzzards over a corpse, he told the author of the book Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin. "People were coming over to that house and walking around and taking s***! You know, I want this and I want that," he was shocked to see.
"Hell, I know she would have given the stuff away. But, it hipped me to a relationship that was going on during her lifetime and I thought to myself, 'Phewww, that's a lousy way to treat somebody," he said.
It wasn't enough for Janis Joplin to throw a big party for her wake, despite being dead. People still swarmed in to take what they could. A shame, really.
