Janis Joplin - Janis Joplin began as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company when she rose to fame. After releasing two albums with them, she left to perform as a solo artist with her own backing groups. The first of which was the Kozmic Blues Band, and then the Full Tillt Boogie Band. 

 

Kozmic Blues Band 

 

Stephen Ryder - Instrument: Keyboard

Cornelius “Snooky” Flowers - Instrument: Saxophone

Sam Andrew - Instrument: Guitar

Brad Campbell -Instrument: Bass

​

Full Tillt Boogie Band

​

John Till - Instrument: Guitar

Richard Bell - Instrument: Piano

Clark Pierson - Instrument: Drums

Brad Campbell - Instrument: Bass

Ken Pearson - Instrument: Organ

 

Name and Member Changes: When Joplin's management convinced her to discard Big Brother and the Holding Company as her backing band, her record label put together a new group of musicians for her. This group, dubbed the Kozmic Blues Band, consisted of Till and several other Full Tillt Boogie Band members — all studio musicians whom her label was familiar with and felt were reliable — plus a horn section. Joplin was not happy touring with some of the group members. Joplin then scraps everyone in the band except John Till. Till soon convinced Joplin to hire his Full Tillt Boogie band in its entirety, and he agreed to drop one of the "L's" from its name, thus creating Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie backing band. Joplin took a more active role in putting together the Full Tilt Boogie Band than she had with the Kozmic Blues Band, and she believed that hiring the remainder of Till's band would provide her with the powerhouse boogie outfit she needed to back her. She then toured with the band backing her until her last performance in 1970

​

Awards and Accomplishments: She was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. She remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States, with Recording Industry Association of America certifications of 18.5 million albums sold.