Big Brother are primarily remembered as the group that gave
Janis Joplin her start. There's no denying both that
Joplin was by far the band's most striking asset, and that
Big Brother would never have made a significant impression if they hadn't been fortunate enough to add her to their lineup shortly after forming. But
Big Brother also occupies a significant place in the history of San Francisco psychedelic rock, as one of the bands that best captured the era's loosest, reckless, and indulgent qualities in its high-energy mutations of
blues and
folk-rock.
Big Brother was formed in 1965 in the Haight-Ashbury; by the time
Joplin joined in mid-1966, the lineup was Sam Andrew and James Gurley on guitar, Peter Albin on bass, and David Getz on drums.
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Big Brother are primarily remembered as the group that gave
Janis Joplin her start. There's no denying both that
Joplin was by far the band's most striking asset, and that
Big Brother would never have made a significant impression if they hadn't been fortunate enough to add her to their lineup shortly after forming. But
Big Brother also occupies a significant place in the history of San Francisco psychedelic rock, as one of the bands that best captured the era's loosest, reckless, and indulgent qualities in its high-energy mutations of
blues and
folk-rock.
Big Brother was formed in 1965 in the Haight-Ashbury; by the time
Joplin joined in mid-1966, the lineup was Sam Andrew and James Gurley on guitar, Peter Albin on bass, and David Getz on drums.
Joplin, a recent arrival from Texas, entered the band at the instigation of Chet Helms, who (other than Bill Graham) was the most important San Francisco rock promoter.
Big Brother, like
the Grateful Dead and
Quicksilver Messenger Service, were not great songwriters or singers. They didn't entirely welcome
Joplin's presence at first, though, and
Joplin did not dominate the group right away, sharing the lead vocals with other members.
It soon became evident to both band and audience that
Joplin's fiery wail -- mature and emotionally wrenching, even at that early stage -- had to be spotlighted to make
Big Brother a contender. But
Big Brother wasn't superfluous to the effort, interpreting
folk and
blues with an inventive (if sometimes sloppy) eclecticism that often gave way to distorted guitar jamming, and matching
Joplin's passion with a high-spirited, anything-goes ethos of their own.
Big Brother catapulted themselves into national attention with their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, particularly with
Joplin's galvanizing interpretation of "Ball and Chain" (which was a highlight of the film of the event). High-powered management and record label bids rolled in immediately, but unfortunately the group had tied themselves up in a bad contract with the small Mainstream label, at a time where they were stranded on the road and needed cash. Their one Mainstream album (released in 1967) actually isn't bad at all, containing some of their stronger cuts, such as "Down on Me" and "Coo Coo." It didn't fully capture the band's strengths, and with the help of new high-powered manager Albert Grossman (also handler of
Bob Dylan,
the Band, and
Peter, Paul & Mary), they extricated themselves from the Mainstream deal and signed with Columbia.
The one
Big Brother album for Columbia that featured
Joplin,
Cheap Thrills (1968), wasn't completed without problems of its own. John Simon found the band so difficult to work with that he withdrew his production credit from the final LP, which was assembled from both studio sessions and live material (recorded for an aborted concert album).
Cheap Thrills nonetheless went to number one when it was finally released, and though it too was an erratic affair, it contained some of the best moments of
acid rock's glory days, including "Ball and Chain," "Summertime," "Combination of the Two," and "Piece of My Heart."
Cheap Thrills made
Big Brother superstars, a designation that was short-lived. By the end of 1968,
Joplin had decided to go solo, a move from which neither she nor
Big Brother ever fully recovered. That's putting matters too simply:
Joplin never found a backing band as sympathetic, but did record some excellent material in the remaining two years of her life.
Big Brother, on the other hand, had the wind totally knocked out of their sails. Although they did re-form for a while in the early '70s with different singers (indeed, they continued to perform in watered-down variations into the '90s), nothing would ever be the same. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
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