Music of Janis Joplin lights up Playhouse Square

CLEVELAND -- Musicians who played with her or were influenced by her took the State Theater stage in a tribute to rock-blues singer Janis Joplin Saturday night.  

Joplin is being honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its American Music Masters series. 

"She was somebody who'd just go out there and let her soul fly," said singer Carolyn Wonderland of Joplin.

"As a woman, hell, she was such a strong force of nature to aspire to that, in a lifetime, I think whether you're a boy or a girl that's a big thing to aspire to."

Janis grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, and made her way to San Francisco in the sixties where she was a folksinger in coffee houses.

There she met Bob Neuwirth, of Akron who would be co-writer of her hit, "Mercedes Benz."

"She started out being influenced by Hank Williams and George Jones," he said, "then Odetta and other female folk singers of the time.  When she found the blues she just went off like a skyrocket with it because it fit her voice and her personality."

Janis Joplin died from an overdose of heroin at age 27.

"She was just this amazing ball of energy, of emotion, that spoke to you from the stage," said Ray Benson of "Asleep at the Wheel."

"As a singer you try to connect with the audience at every show--she did it with every note."  Benson, who opened the tribute show Saturday night, appreciated the Rock Hall's recognition of Joplin.

"The rock and rollers of today and the blues singers of today need to learn what Janis and others put forth in order for them to make it their own," he said.