Janis Joplin released two albums with the band before going solo with her own backing bands, the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band. Her cover versions of “Piece of My Heart,” “Cry Baby,” “Down on Me,” “Ball and Chain,” “Summertime,” and her original song “Mercedes Benz,” her final recording, are among her most popular songs.
Unfortunately, she died at the age of 27 on Sunday evening, October 4, 1970, from heroin overdoses. “Pearl,” her second solo album, was released in January 1971, just over three months after she died.