Claim: Janis Joplin worked with a backing group.

Janis Lyn Joplin -LRB- -LSB- ˈdʒɒplɪn -RSB- January 19 , 1943 -- October 4 , 1970 -RRB- was an American rock singer and songwriter . She was one of the biggest female rock stars of her era . After releasing three albums , she died of an accidental heroin overdose at age 27 . A fourth album , Pearl , was released in January 1971 , a little more than three months after her death . It reached number one on the charts .   In 1967 , Joplin rose to fame during an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival , where she was the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company . After releasing two albums with the band , she left Big Brother to continue as a solo artist with her own backing groups , first the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band . She appeared at the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour . Five singles by Joplin went into the Billboard Top 100 , including a cover of the song `` Me and Bobby McGee '' , which reached number 1 in March 1971 . Her most popular songs include her cover versions of `` Piece of My Heart '' , `` Cry Baby '' , `` Down on Me '' , `` Ball 'n' Chain '' , and `` Summertime '' ; and her original song `` Mercedes Benz '' , her final recording .   Joplin , highly respected for her charismatic performing ability , was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 . Audiences and critics alike referred to her stage presence as `` electric '' . Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time . She remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States , with Recording Industry Association of America certifications of 15.5 million albums sold in the USA .