Janis Joplin Wished George Harrison Had Seen Her and Big Brother and the Holding Company Perform Instead of Paul McCartney
Like most fans, Janis Joplin had a favorite Beatle, and it was George Harrison. So, understandably, she was a little upset when Paul McCartney came to see her and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, perform in the 1960s. Having a Beatle watch them was nice, but she wished Paul was George.
Janis Joplin loved George Harrison the best
Bobby Neuwirth, who wrote “Mercedes Benz” with Joplin, knew the famous singer well. He told the New York Post that Joplin enjoyed “high brow” art and loved George the most out of all the Beatles.
“Joplin, Neuwirth said, had a salty, Mae west-like sense of humor, but was also ‘high-brow,'” the New York Post wrote in 2013. “Backstage, she was often reading — Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein and the Fitzgeralds, F. Scott and Zelda.
“Her favorite Beatle was George Harrison; she even named her mutt for him.”
Joplin wished George saw her and Big Brother and the Holding Company perform instead of Paul McCartney
Joplin was just as in love with The Beatles as the rest of her generation. However, she was fortunate enough to have one of her idols come and see her perform with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Paul came to watch them perform in San Francisco (per Far Out Magazine).
The experience had a lasting effect on Joplin. She was so excited that she wrote to her parents to tell them all about it. However, she added that she wished another Beatle had come. Joplin wished George had seen her perform instead of Paul.
Joplin wrote, “Speaking of England, guess who was in town last week – Paul McCartney!!! (he’s a Beatle). And he came to see us!!! SIGH, Honest to God! He came to the Matrix & saw us & told some people that he dug us.
“Isn’t that exciting!!!! Gawd, I was so thrilled – I still am! Imagine – Paul!!!! If it could only have been George….oh, well. I didn’t get to see him anyway – we heard about it afterwards. Why, if I’d known that he was out there, I would have jumped right off the stage and made a fool of myself.”
Joplin wasn’t the only famous female singer who loved the spiritual Beatle. One of Joplin’s biggest fans, Stevie Nicks, shared in her idol’s love of George.
The singer’s estate later supported the former Beatle’s estate
Joplin continued to support her idol even after she died in 1970. In 2011, Joplin’s estate supported The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
“Please consider donating during The Month of Giving to help prevent the deaths of two million malnourished children in the Horn of Africa,” the estate wrote on Facebook.
Joplin and George might not have met, but they’re connected through charity. It’s a wonder what would have come from a collaboration between the two artists.
