So, I was delighted to run across a piece of video, on
You Tube of course, of Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company,
recording “Summertime” for their upcoming album “Cheap Thrills”, which would be
released in the late summer of 1968. This video was shot at CBS Recording Studios
in New York City.
The video; which was too large for the video player here, according
to blogspot; runs a little over 10 minutes. In the video, Janis is clearly in
control, while at the same time displaying a unique quality to compromise with
both the band and the engineer/producer John Simon. The band felt that he did
not understand their psychedelic sound. Manager Albert Grossman was in agreement
with Mr. Simon, and pressured the band to change some of their arrangements on
several songs. Their reaction to this is evident in the video, as they attempt
to talk music with a technician and businessman.
As the video begins, the band is rehearsing, sounding like
the best garage band on earth, as Janis enters the studio dancing. This would
be their first album for Columbia, and the band is clearly excited. The album
would not be released until late that summer/ early fall, and so the band
worked on the record on their off days.
The “Lenny” who Janis refers to in her story about the “bust” in
Vancouver is Henry McCullough, who would later play with “Wings” and Paul McCartney.
Janis is clearly pissed about the whole incident, particularly the way in which
“Lenny” was being used by his record company, as well as his band mates and manager.
But, she is able to put all that aside in an instant to begin recording her
iconic rendition of “Summertime” from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”.
The band is summoned into the control room to listen to the
playback, and a very technical discussion begins between the band members and
Mr. Simon, who is clearly not in touch with the vision the group has for the
song. This is one of the most interesting parts of the video, as the band
shifts, seamlessly, between the music and some gossip about a party the night
before. It seems that James Gurley, the group’s guitarist, had put on quite a
load the night before, and his band mates just can’t resist ribbing him about
it.
The cover for the album was supposed to be a black and white
photo of Janis, alone. This was the suggestion of Mr. Grossman. His working
motto was always to conquer and divide the artists with whom he worked. But, Janis
would have none of it, opting instead for the brilliant cover art of cartoonist
Robert Crumb, who was a staple of the psychedelic scene in San Francisco, where
the band was based. He had already done several posters advertising gigs for
most of the bands in San Francisco at the time, including Big Brother’s shows
at the Avalon Ballroom.
The album, which was to be recorded live; and actually
states that on the inside cover; contained only 1 song, which was recorded at Winterland
in San Francisco; “Ball and Chain”. And, even that version was altered, with
James Gurley overdubbing a new intro.
Originally named “Sex, Dope and Cheap Thrills”, Columbia
nixed the title, allowing the band to retain only the “Cheap Thrills” portion.
It went on to 8 weeks at number one, though not in succession. The biggest hit
on the album was “Piece of My Heart”, which went on to become a classic of the
era. It’s still played daily on most “classic rock” stations. By October 15th
the album had already surpassed $1 million dollars in sales. Shortly after that,
the album sold over 1 million “units”, or copies.
I still have my original vinyl copy of the album. The cover
is in excellent condition, and I have been thinking of framing it as a way to
capture a bit of the past. Here is the link to the You Tube video which
prompted me to write this short article;
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