She sings like someone who fights for his life/ She sings like someone who betrays his fears/ She sings like someone who needs touch/ I want to call her ‘Crazy Flower'”. Rachel Shapira wrote these words to the song “Crazy Flower”, composed by Moni Amarillo and performed by Chava Alberstein in 1978 on the album “Tabeharut”, as a tribute to the legendary blues and soul singer Janis Joplin, who died eight years earlier, on October 4, 1970, as a result Heroin overdose.
Joplin, an honorary member of the “27 Club”, of music legends who died at this age, including her friends Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, is considered five decades after her death to be one of the most unique, influential and groundbreaking singers in world music in general, in rock, blues and soul in particular. In the three years of her “official” career (and a total of eight years of performances), Joplin managed to introduce into the pantheon some of the most beloved classics of popular music (some originally hers and some cover versions), including: Me And Bobby McGee, Piece Of My Heart, Maybe, Mercedes Benz and Down On Me.
In fact, Joplin was the antithesis of some of the stars of the time: she posed nude, had a long affair with alcohol and hard drugs that eventually led to her death, dressed in discarded clothes and no makeup, cursed and experimented with sex with women. Among her famous stints was the one with Leonard Cohen, who wrote his song Chelsea Hotel #2 about him.
On the 80th anniversary of her birth, music researcher Dodi Fatimer dedicated the chapter of “Rockyam” to the story, uniqueness and great songs of the legendary singer and tried to investigate what the secret of the myth is.