Mimeographed free-verse poem by fan Ginger Wilson, titled “Sing A Song of Raw Meat: Tough Talking Woman’s Blues,” six pages, 8.5 x 11, signed and inscribed in ballpoint on the first page, “Ginger, beautiful poem, Thanks, Janis Joplin.” The poem begins: “Janis Joplin…begotten of Tennessee Williams and Southern Comfort, ‘brewed on the banks,’ balled on the banks of Life, in the tradition of Mae West and Black blues singers…. Her accident ward wail, that raw meat voice forced from a raucous resonator, her threat flaunting major and minor musical scales…. Sexual excitement, emotional catharsis flowing jaggedly into some electronic silver wand, a microphone….” In very good condition, with intersecting folds (associated light soiling), mild toning, wrinkling, and rust stains or small loss to upper left corner of each sheet. Joplin’s writing is bold and dark.
The poem, published in the February 1, 1969, issue of Rolling Stone magazine, was originally stored at the magazine’s offices in a file for unsolicited submissions called the “Jim Morrison File.” After deciding to permanently close the file at the end of 1968, the magazine printed two of the most representative poems (of many) from the file, including this one. Accompanied by an original clipping from the magazine which includes the poems as printed.
Ironically, by the time this piece appeared, Joplin was no longer the rebellious Port Arthur misfit who stormed onto the psychedelic hippie scene. Rather, her ever-increasing fame and popularity was undermining her credibility as a tormented blues singer, and critics maintained that there is no such thing as a “blues megastar.” By the late-1960s, Joplin and her Southern Comfort-inspired “raw meat voice” had left Big Brother and the Holding Company and set out on her own. By this time, the excitement and the emotion of being Janis Joplin—not to mention the drugs and the booze and the stress of leading the short-lived Kozmic Blues Band—had all but taken their toll. A true slice of of Rock & Roll history. Pre-certified Roger Epperson/REAL and RRAuction COA.
