Janis Joplin, the Texas born self-styled beat blueswoman, became an icon of hippie culture both before and after her overdose death in 1970. Joplin was an outsider her entire youth, failing to fit in with the strict social conventions of the late 1950's and early 1960's. She adopted this status willingly, modeling herself after blues greats Bessie Smith, Odetta and Leadbelly. In seeking and achieving this heroic outsider status, Joplin successfully shed standard cultural and gender stereotypes, setting a new standard for the unkempt, androgynous styling of hippie culture.
Janis Joplin
