Kris & Janis 1970

Kris and Janis Joplin or Janis and Kris

Kris and Janis Joplin –  or was it Janis and Kris (Kristofferson)?  Whenever Kris sings Me and Bobby McGee, I always listen for the almost trademark …..” and Janis” that he often says after singing the final “feeling good was easy Lord while Bobby sang the blues, feeling good was good enough for me – and Janis….”

'Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose'#JanisJoplin

Lyrics: #KrisKristofferson pic.twitter.com/ut4ROqZqLs

— Jorge (@TripsNTunes) October 20, 2017

Janis Predicted

The clip I came across recently interested me.  I hadn’t heard it before but found it endearing to note that Janis herself endorsed Kris Kristofferson back in 1970 when she was the star and Kris was an up and coming songwriter. Janis predicted that Kris would become famous, and I wanted to share my finding with you.

Threadgills

Threadgills was THE place in Austin in the 1960s for folk music, hippies, and beatniks.  Wednesday night included singing sessions along with the beer, and the establishment became known for the culture of tolerance that grew from the ambience and the music.  Longhaired hippies and rough so-called rednecks managed to mix in peace and harmony, it was a place of respect and tolerance.

Kenneth Threadgill sounds like just the right sort of person to have made a success of this club.  He was anti-establishment, having been a bootlegger during prohibition, and is said to have been one of the first people to obtain a licence in Travis County after the law was repealed.

Janis was a long-standing friend of Threadgill, and it seems clear that she thought as much of him as he thought of her.

The audio to the video below was taken on 10 July 1970.

Great Find

I found this while researching the era and I hadn’t seen it before. It’s been a long time since that happened and I’ve grabbed a copy. This link is for the UK, and if you buy through it, our site gets a small comm. Some US fans have mentioned that right now, it seems cheaper to but this from the UK rather than from the US for the US, but if you are interested, check it out. If you look around from elsewhere, you should find somewhere that ships to you home country. The main reason it’s here is to show it to you in case you don’t have it either.

A Good Lei

Janis had returned to Texas for Threadgill’s birthday celebration from Hawaii following a gruelling month of touring. On her return to Texas she kept her head down, but she came out of hibernation to sing for Threadgill in front of a crowd of about 8000 who turned out for his birthday. Janis is said to have presented the birthday boy with a thing she picked up in Hawaii that she knew he’d like, “a good lei!” – and she put the flowers around his neck.

This incident, as small as it is, seems to illustrate the love that existed between many of the artists and patrons of the era.

Please note the video is not of the actual audio.  It is likely that no video of this event exists, but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the moment.

Janis Joplin / Me And Bobby Mcgee [Live] 1970

Janis – Links to posted Pictures

Sources:

http://www.janisjoplin.net/life/friends/kenneth-threadgill/

http://www.threadgills.com/history/

Threadgill’s pic is CC , no changes.  Attribution and credit to Alan Levine