Blog Posts by Karl Dallas (1968)

Karl Dallas got a heady dose of candid Janis J when he chatted backstage with her at the 1968 Newport Folk Festival. This was his account of their meeting in the Melody Maker of 17 August--Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages

She wears a micro-length dress with a neckline plunging down to the navel. She swoops around the stage like some kind of female bat about to get a kinky thrill from drinking your blood. Her voice rises to a hoarse screech, then falls to a husky whisper whose tone promises unmentionable pleasures. She wears a wildly decorated cape that she suddenly discards with the showmanship of a good stripper, and a shudder runs through the audience.

But offstage the "Rock and Roll Woman" of Big Brother and the Holding Company - Janis Joplin, the 25-year-old ex-college drop-out who is probably the world's sexiest white female singer - is something quite different from her overpowering public image.

She's a thoughtful, shy, slightly cynical girl who has no