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Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin

Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin Cover

ISBN13: 9780805053876
ISBN10: 0805053875
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The definitive biography of rock's first female superstar, the queen of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.
If you don't believe there's a price
For this sweet paradise
Just remind me to show you the scars.
-"Where Are You Tonight," Bob Dylan
Janis Joplin was the "skyrocket chick" of the sixties, the woman who broke into the boys' club of rock and out of the stifling good-girl femininity of postwar America. With her incredible wall-of-sound vocals, Joplin was the voice of a generation, and when she OD'd on heroin in October 1970, a generation's dreams crashed and burned with her.
Now Alice Echols pushes beyond the legendary Joplin--the red-hot mama of her own invention--as well as the familiar portrait of the screwed-up star victimized by the era she symbolized. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, Echols examines the roots of Joplin's musicianship and what she called "the superhypermost lifestyle." Moving from the electric ballrooms of San Francisco to the mud-soaked fields of Woodstock, Echols explores a generation's experiment with high-risk living and the terrible price it exacted.
A deeply affecting biography of one of America's most brilliant and tormented stars, Scars of Sweet Paradise is also a vivid and incisive cultural history of an era that changed the world for us all.

Synopsis:

Janis Joplin was the skyrocket chick of the sixties, the woman who broke into the boys' club of rock and out of the stifling good-girl femininity of postwar America. With her incredible wall-of-sound vocals, Joplin was the voice of a generation, and when she OD'd on heroin in October 1970, a generation's dreams crashed and burned with her. Alice Echols pushes past the legary Joplin-the red-hot mama of her own invention-as well as the familiar portrait of the screwed-up star victimized by the era she symbolized, to examine the roots of Joplin's muscianship and explore a generation's experiment with high-risk living and the terrible price it exacted.

A deeply affecting biography of one of America's most brilliant and tormented stars, Scars of Sweet Paradise is also a vivid and incisive cultural history of an era that changed the world for us all.

About the Author

Alice Echols, author of Daring to Be Bad ("fascinating"--The Nation), is a leading historian of the sixties. She has taught at UCLA and USC and has written for The Nation, The Village Voice, and the L.A. Weekly. She lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780805053876
Subtitle:
The Life and Times of Janis Joplin
Author:
Echols, Alice
Publisher:
Metropolitan Books
Location:
New York :
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Historical - U.S.
Subject:
Composers & Musicians - Rock
Subject:
Rock musicians
Subject:
Singers
Subject:
Joplin, janis, 1943-1970
Subject:
Rock musicians -- United States -- Biography.
Subject:
Entertainment & Performing Arts
Edition Number:
1st ed.
Publication Date:
19990317
Binding:
HC
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
432
Dimensions:
9.53x6.49x1.55 in. 1.72 lbs.
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