Janis Joplin 50 Years -- October 4, 2020

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Janis Joplin died 50 years ago today, on 04-October-1970.  I remember the story on the news.  I always looked forward to hearing her music on the radio. 

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I remember seeing the cover of Big Brother and the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills. It may have been my first exposure to R Crumb. 

Years later I read an article that said she had auditioned for San Francisco traditional jazz band leader Turk Murphy.  He liked her voice but he didn't want to hire a "beatnik."  It would have been interesting.  This is not the original article, but it has some nice details about Janis singing some songs with Dick Oxtot.  Oxtot recommended her to Turk Murphy: http://jazzhotbigstep.com/428723.html

Huey Long 150, Ted Williams 100, R Crumb 75 -- August 30, 2018

Ted Williams, perhaps the greatest hitter in major league history, was born 100 years ago today, on 30-August-1918.  As a Marine, he flew fighters in both World War II and the Korean War.

I was surprised to learn that Ted Williams shared a birthday with the Kingfish, Huey Long and cartoonist/musician R Crumb.

Harris & Ewing, Library of Congress, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

I read All the King's Men before I read a biography of Louisiana politician Huey Long.  He did a lot for common folks, but seemed dangerous.  His assassination smelled fishy.

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I first learned about underground comix when I took a summer acting class at Lone Mountain College.  I found a counterculture  newspaper, perhaps the Berkeley Barb or a short-lived San Francisco paper, and saw Gilbert Shelton's "I Set My Chickens Free."  I went on to find out about other artists like Spain Rodrigues and R Crumb.  Crumb's comix seemed to have a lot of misogyny, but they could be very funny.  Later I learned about his music.