Janis Joplin was a star with a one-of-a-kind voice. Often remembered for her powerful vocals and electric stage presence, Joplin rose to fame after her appearance at Monterey Pop Festival. In September of 1970, Joplin was leading a successful career and life, and a month later she was no more.
Everyone was in a state of shock when Joplin died at the age of 27 on October 4, 1970. She went on to become a part of the 27 Club. Prior to her death, she was working on her career and also loved her time in the band ‘Big Brother & the Holding Company’. Their work in the field of psychedelic rock was very good and was loved by everyone. She changed the field of view of many people.
Back then, Joplin was at her peak. The recording sessions of the album ‘Pearl’ would be her very last work. By October of 1970, it was nearly finished and only the finishing touches were left in the album. She was the leading force behind the album. She was the one in charge and approved all the arrangements, and songs in the album. She also personally picked producer Paul A for the work. She also wrote the song ‘Move Over’ herself.
But it all came to a crash when she died on October 4. Only three days before her demise she had recorded a vocal take of a song she had written two months ago. She wrote that song with folk singer Bob Neuwirth. The lyrics of the song arose from a song written by singer-songwriter Michael McClure. Bob Neuwirth and Joplin were hanging out in a bar in Port Chester, New York when she began writing the riff, “Come on, God, and buy me a Mercedes Benz.”
Back then, there was the start of the Hippie movement. She also had a concert that night, and that night she envisioned ‘Mercedes Benz’. By the 70s she and her peers were rockstars. Bobby Womack also had things to say about the song. He wrote in his autobiography Midnight Mover that she had composed the song while they rode in his newly-purchased Mercedes-Benz 600. He wrote,
“We rode a couple of blocks while she fixed a tune in her head and then started singing,” Womack also wrote. “A line just spilled out. ‘Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz. ‘My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.'”
On the 1st of October, by then the song was already a three-verse track. It talked about Joplin wanting a new car, and a color TV and asking God for all those things. She also wrote that she wanted a night in the town. In the studio, was her fabulous voice and the tapping of her foot. It was her last recording. But it was not completed. The song only had one take and Joplin called out and said she would like to do a song of social and political import. Joplin also lost the beat during the recording and stopped stomping.
With an optimistic look toward the future, they closed the session thinking they would later get a way to complete the arrangement. It was not possible as Joplin died three days later.
