Janis Joplin sang the blues like no other. Her performances were burningly intense, and her flamboyance made her a hit with hippie audiences. Like Jimi Hendrix or Jim Morrison, she died too young. But by this point, she was rightfully regarded as one of the most legendary rock artists.

Still, her incredible wailing vocals are the thing most people know about Joplin. Today, I’m focusing on the songs. Many of those were recorded with the band Big Brother & The Holding Company, of which she was a member.

These are the 10 best songs featuring the vocal talent of Janis Joplin.

Greatest 10 Songs by Janis Joplin (Big Brother & The Holding Company)

10. “Mercedes Benz”

Who needs a band anyway? Janis Joplin claps and sings the ridiculous “Mercedes Benz” like a faithful in church. It’s likely an impromptu recording, possibly a break from some party.

But it sounds tremendous. Joplin’s such a good singer and aware enough of her charm that this doesn’t become a parody.

Yeah, it was released posthumously and made just about every rock and soul music listener miss Joplin terribly. The 27 Club was never a place where someone with so much potential belonged.

9. “Kozmic Blues”

Janis Joplin was only happy to be a band member for the first part of her career. But by 1969, even she had to acknowledge that she’d outgrown the Big Brother collective.

“Kozmic Blues” is a cut from her 1969 debut record. It was one of her early attempts at original songwriting. And, in many ways, it’s one of the most faithful representations of Joplin as an artist. Her performance of “Kozmic Blues” at the original 1969 Woodstock Festival is, I think, a real highlight.

8. “Down on Me”

Big Brother and the Holding Company was, to begin with, a loose-sounding psych-rock band. Joplin was happy just to be a part of it. But her powerful singing became the band’s calling card.

“Down on Me” was a 1920s protest song about freedom and the hope for better days. In 1967, these hippies covered and changed it to suit Joplin’s vocal style. It’s the song that best shows what this psych-rock group, along with the likes of Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane, were trying to achieve.

7. “Move Over”

There’s a reason why Janis Joplin is something of a feminist icon. And the status is well-warranted.

The truth is that in rock n’ roll, or the hippie scene, women rarely received the same status as men, despite the slogans of these communities.

“Move Over” is a rare original composition by Janis Joplin. It offers her view on inequality and shows the true colors of a singer who once declared, “On stage, I make love to 25,000 different people, then I go home alone.”

6. “Summertime”

It’s incredible to consider that in Big Brother, Joplin didn’t even sing lead vocals on all early tracks. Initially, a shy hippie just trying to be part of a psychedelic rock group, Joplin eventually found her voice.

What Joplin brings to the George Gershwin classic is an over-the-top sense of drama that mimics the lead guitar playing of Jimi Hendrix. It’s marvelous!

5. “Ball and Chain”

Janis Joplin wasn’t just a singer who’d been blessed with an excellent voice. Although quite shy at the beginning of her career, she had a clear list of blues, rock n’ roll, and soul influences by the time she ever hit the stage.

One of these influences was the legendary Big Mama Thornton. Joplin brought a similar sense of grandeur to her performance of “Ball and Chain,” one of the highlights of her all-too-short discography.

4. “Me and Bobby McGee”

“Me and Bobby McGee” is, and it goes without saying, the most famous Janis Joplin-sung tune. And, while it was embraced as something of an anthem for peace & love, its roots lie in the more conservative-minded world of country & western.

Kris Kristofferson, a budding writer at that stage, wrote the song. It was first given to the great Roger Miller. It was a song about hitchhikers looking for freedom on life’s busy roads.

The material suited Joplin perfectly. This was the highlight of her legendary “Pearl” album. And, sadly, it makes me wonder just what Joplin would’ve achieved with the right material and more time.

3. “Piece of My Heart”

The lead voice comes charging out of the speakers. Yes, there were plenty of talented soul singers making their way through the music industry in the 1960s. But Joplin’s vocals blended them with an operatic, exuberant flavour that made her performances hard not to notice.

Typical of Joplin’s brief career, “Piece of My Heart” is another cover. It was written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns for Erma Franklin.

Still, it’s Big Brother and the Holding Company’s version of the “Cheap Thrills” album that is the most famous. Naturally, it’s one of the songs that aspiring female singers use to demo their own singing ability.

2. “Maybe”

A truly gorgeous soul-blues number made all the more beautiful by Joplin’s no-holds-barred ability, “Maybe” is one of the great songs of longing.

The arrangement also benefits the singer’s ability. This was recorded for the solo album, “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!” By 1969, it was clear to most producers what Janis Joplin was the very best at – being a soul singer.

1. “Cry Baby”

The singing goes from a sensitive sigh to a thunderous moan. Joplin had many nights in which her vocals seemed to climb up to the heavens. No studio recording better captured this than “Cry Baby.”

By the time Joplin recorded it, “Cry Baby” had become something of an R&B standard. This was the musical genre in which the Texas-born singer was most comfortable.

It was recorded for an album fated to become legendary, and, sadly, to be released posthumously. Joplin’s “Cry Baby” is one of the greatest vocal performances of all time and, I admit, makes you wonder about just what the future could’ve held for the talented musician with a voice like nobody else’s.