Oh, Lord! Janis Joplin's 356 down to Los Angeles when she was recording there. Wherever janis went in the car, her fans recognized it. Whensheparked it and returned, there was always at least one note under the wipers, saying such things as,'Keep on Rockin,' and 'You 're the greatest, I love youl" The iconic Porsche was stolen at one point, and the thief tried to cover its distinc­ tive paint with gray primer before the car was recovered. Because a clear coat had been applied to protect the artwork, the damage was minimal. Becoming Janis janis joplinwas bornand raised inPort Arthur, Texas and orsche 356s have been known to sport represent "everyman." The rightdoor, thought by by 17 she was singing in coffeehouses around exotic or unusual paint jobs, especially many to be Sausalito, is just a typical valley town Texas. In San Francisco in 1963, she strove to Pinracingcircles, butthere's onlyoneof while the left side of the car represents the band. make a name fo r herselfas a singer, butalcohol these special renderings that has been on display The dramatic hood displayshows the Eye of God and drugs took their toll and she was soon back at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, alongwith fl owers and butterflies. Even the dash­ home. Duringstintsat college she made a contin­ Ohio. And this isn't just an exotic paint job, it's a board is painted \vith a face (that janis always uing effort to find her direction, and in 1965 a psychedelic visual tour-de-force, It's the 356Cof thought was angry with her). There is another friend offered her a chance to audition as lead blues/rock singer janisjoplin. face atthe gas filler - justplace thenozzle into the singer for Big Brother, then a somewhat obscure In one of her most famous songs she mouth fora fill up. San Francisco group that played the Avalon lamented, "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a janis' sister and biographer, Laura joplin Ballroom, but with a dedicated following among Mercedes-Benz. My friends all drive Porsches, I described the car as being freshly painted, glow­ the BayArea "Beautiful People." must make amends." In spite of what the lyrics ing like glass when it was purchased from At the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 the said, it was janis in fact, who drovea Porsche. In Zipper's. "After janis hadthe car painted with its audience was electrified with janis' performance, September, 1968 she bought a used 1965 356 psychedelic designs, she brought it back to the especially theband's version of"Ball and Chain." Cabriolet, YIN 160371 for around $3,500 from dealer to show it off. They almost had a heart Acclaim from that gig broughtthem to the atten­ Otto Zipper in Beverly Hills. attack, theywere so shocked." tion of Albert Grossman, who became their man­ Wildly painted hippy and surfer vans were In an interview Dave Richards in 1994, he ager and secured a Columbia Records contract. familiar on the Califo rnia scene ofthe 1960s, but described the graphics. lIer instructions were The album that followed, "Cheap Thrills," was a janis wanted somethingdifferent. Her car hadto merelyto "paint it' andshe didn 't give anyguide­ commercial and artistic success. The band, reflect her lifestyle and her music. Accordingly, lines nor specifi cs about what to paint. The car unfortunately, onlystayed together through 1968 she gavethe 356 to Dave Ri chards for the trans­ was first sprayed with candyapple redautomotive and the next year janis led a group of seasoned formation . Richards was a roadie forjanis' band, lacquer andthe graphics werelaterbrushed onin musicians called the Kozmic Blues Band. By now Big Brother and the Holding Company. the few months Dave had the car. He said the shewas appearing on TV and gave major concerts The pearl white car with black interior was numerouselementswere intuitivelyinfluenced by in Frankfurt and London. The sound was more transformed into an icon. Rather than just a curi­ the '60s drugscene-LSD and marijuana- the mainstreamand itwasn'tuntilsheformed her last ous or funny-looking paint job, thejoplinPorsche Vietnamwar, and the movie 2001. "The graphics group, the FullTilt Boogie Band in 1970 thatjanis reflected her lifestyle. Forexample, the rightrear just happened," he explained. reallyfeltshe hadfound a sound that fit her style. is the sun which was janis' Capricorn sign. The Laura joplin remembers, "janis drove the During much of her short professional life, two heads centrally located on the engine cover car everywhere, all around San Francisco and janis was sustained by drugs and alcohol but by 30 Volume 29, Number 3 Photo opposite and left courtesy of Michael 1969 she recognizedthe dangers. She recovered, Joplin at least temporality, froma heroin habit, but was still dependenton booze. She was found dead on Oct.4, 1970 in the Landmark, a Hollywood hotel. The official cause ofdeath was accidental heroin overdose. She was 27. Her album "Pearl" was released posthumously and was No . 1 on the hit parade for nine weeks in 1971.It included a cover of Kris Kristofferscn's "Me and Bobby McG ee" and "Mercedes Benz." Another track by Nick Gravenites was love it or hate it, included as an instrumental;Janis was to add Janis Joplin 's Cabriolet the vocals on the day she died. It was called, has become an well-known icon prophetically, "Buried Alive in the Blues." of the late sixties and the San Francisco musi cscene of the time. This page: The car inits restored condition . At left, as it was displayed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, April 1996. The other photos are from Bob Brown, whose Storz Garage in Denver main ­ tained the car and stored it when it was not on dis­ play at the theater. Continued next page. September I October 2005 31 The homeless 356 After janis' untimely death, the car was garaged and cared for in Los Angeles by her attorney and executor, Robert Gordon. About nine months later, the Joplin family gave the car to her manager Albert Grossman, who loaned the car to musicians and some of his clients. It was driven to Grossman's New York State home byJanis' last roommate. By 1973, the car needed repairs and was returnedto thefamily, with a frozen engineand dam­ age to the front and rear. In addition, rust had gotten under the painted designs and theywere startingto slough off. Most ofthephotos oftheunrestoredcarweretakenin 1975in Prescott, Arizona after the car was back with theJoplin family. It was used occasional­ ly and fi nallyparked in 1991. The car was completelyrestoredin Denver with newseatsand repaint­ ed in the original design by jana Mitchell at the Denver Center Theatre Company. In 1994 the car was featured in the lobbyof that theater fo r the play, "Love, Janis."The playwas fashioned fromJanis' letters to her family as the band was on tour. The libretto was the actual words from her correspon­ deuce, Considering her constant inner turmoil, two performers playedJanis. One was her on-stage persona whilethe other portrayed her private life. Her hometown expresses the same idea as her public statue has two faces. The playexperienced standingovations every nightand thentoured other cities. Janislives on in her music albums, the boo k byher sister and the play, "Love, Janis" and the movi e,"Janis - The Way She Was ." In addition , the movie "The Rose" with BetteMidler was looselybased onJoplin's life. Thanks to Laura and MichaelJoplin as well as the late Dave Ri chards for their help. Thanks also to Bob Brown of Storz Garage in Denverfor photos. ~, Above: By the time the 356 reached Tucson it was alittle worse for the wear and the original paint was fading. Below: The re-creation of Dave Richard's artwork was faithful to the original with the exception of the dash, for which no good photos were found. InrernatiOnalAfercantik Manufacturer/Distributor Since 1971 Talbot ~ Obsolete "Special Offer" Sport Mirrors ~ Rubber& Berlin 300-0111lllle Plated Brass SL 300-BI1Ished Aluminum Trim for Tan Floor Mats • Senior - 4.0" Diameter» Junior - 3.5" Diameter • Several Mounting Systems» Flat or COIn'ex Mirrors I the for your 356A vintage I ~~~~. $650 plus shipping 356and ~ 900series • Just A Few Left! Lighting Systems USA automobiles aardvark international VISA Please call or write for late"t parts catalog: 1'.0. 1I0x2818 Del Mar, Califom ia 92014-5818 _ PO Box 509. Whittier,CA 90608 (800)356-0012 (7(,(1)438-2205 Fax (7(,()J438-1428 email: intemationalmel'C'[email protected] websit­e: im356-911.eom IVWI<:talbO/co.cOII/ • Ph.562-699-8887 ' F eLl' 562-699-2288 dealer inquiries invited 32 Volume 29, Number 3 he play "Love, janis" was based on a Iylurid on the other side." book of the same name written bv Jana on Janis "Agift shop here in town had a cookie jar Tla ura joplin, janis' younger sister. It and a music box ofjanis's Porsche. ~ I y husband has been onstage since its premier in 1994 in asked what I wanted for our anniversary, :U1 d I Denver, has traveledto severalother regional ven­ Re-creation of the said, I want the janis cookiejar. It's important to ues :U1 d is currently showingat Ac tors Theatre of iconic paint job me because the paint on those ceramic pieces is Louisville, Randal Myler was the play's director, the paint I puton the car. They wouldhave taken collaborating with Laura on the project. laura thing: there was no photo of was the dashboard. photos after it II ':L~ painted here :U1 d made their brought many of janis' original stage clothes to laura described the dashboard, but there was no designs from those photos.