10 Best Solo Albums From Former Rock Band Members
4. Pearl - Janis Joplin
In June of 1967, the Monterrey Pop Festival celebrated the best and brightest musical talents that had emerged out of the swinging sixties.
Performers included Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas & The Papas, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and an unknown San Francisco group called Big Brother and the Holding Company. Audiences were wowed by this small band, but mostly by their lead singer; a young White woman who could belt out soul tunes with the best of them.
Her name was Janis Joplin.
That day on stage, Joplin made herself a star. She parted ways with the Holding Company in late 1968 and embarked on a solo career. Sadly, this would last for just under two years, as Joplin would die of a heroin overdose in 1970 at the age of just 27.
But her story wasn't over.
Three months after her passing, Joplin's second and final studio album, Pearl, got released.
It showcased the departed star's incredible vocal abilities, particularly on her version of Kris Kristofferson's Me and Bobby McGee, and proved that, had she been able to live a full life, she would have been regarded as one of the all-time greats.