Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing - Hardcover

Angel, Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810983494 ISBN 13: 9780810983496

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 2010

Synopsis

Forty years after her death, Janis Joplin remains among the most compelling and influential figures in rock-and-roll history. Her story—told here with depth and sensitivity by author Ann Angel—is one of a girl who struggled against rules and limitations, yet worked diligently to improve as a singer. It’s the story of an outrageous rebel who wanted to be loved, and of a wild woman who wrote long, loving letters to her mom. And finally, it’s the story of one of the most iconic female musicians in American history, who died at twenty-seven.

 

Janis Joplin includes more than sixty photographs, and an assortment of anecdotes from Janis’s friends and band mates. This thoroughly researched and well-illustrated biography is a must-have for all young artists, music lovers, and pop-culture enthusiasts.

 

About this title

About the Author:

Ann Angel is the author of six biographies and works of criticism. She graduated from Vermont College’s MFA program in writing for children, and she works as an author and educator, focusing on young adults. She was the editor for Abrams’s Such a Pretty Face. She lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Visit her online at www.annangelwriter.com.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* In an introduction to this long-overdue portrait of “the first queen of rock,” Sam Andrew, Janis Joplin’s former bandmate and best friend, says, “There was electricity in the air when Janis was around. . . . She was vulnerable, powerful, super wide open, talented, and interesting in a kind of terrifying way.” Building from Andrew’s full-hearted and contradictory description, Angel presents a nuanced account of the groundbreaking musician’s life, beginning with her challenging adolescence in Port Arthur, Texas. After giving up on fitting in, she sang along to the blues on long drives with equally rebellious teen friends and learned that she had a powerful voice. Tracking back to Joplin’s childhood, Angel then moves on to the singer’s early years of studying and music-making before she finally grabbed attention with Andrews’ band Big Brother and the Holding Company. Angel writes with both a reporter’s forthright, detached tone and a fan’s full-hearted enthusiasm, and she includes numerous revealing quotes from friends and family members, all sourced in the appended notes and bibliography. Without sensationalizing, she also discusses Joplin’s sex-drugs-and-rock-’n’-roll lifestyle, which ended with the singer’s alcohol-and-heroin-induced death at the age of 27. A groovy page design, patterned in shades of purple and acid green; a lively annotated time line; and unforgettable archival images will pull even more attention to this captivating view of a musician rarely spotlighted in books for youth. Grades 9-12. --Gillian Engberg

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0810983494
• ISBN 13: 9780810983496
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128