#13 - Cheap Thrills: Big Brother & the Holding Company (1968)

This is actually another Janis Joplin album, as she was the lead singer and face of the band. With Pearl at #15 that actually puts two of Janis’s albums in the top 20. Who woulda thunkit? 

The original cover was supposed to be a portrait of Janis (and this the back cover), but Janis loved it so much they switched. Here’s the actual back cover:

Janis was a big fan of underground comics, especially of R. Crumb, the artist behind the cover.

In case you’ve never heard of him (honestly, you've never heard of him?), he’s basically the father of underground comics. Fritz the Cat? Mr. Natural? Zap Comix? Yup, it’s all R. (Robert) Crumb.

He’s actually got over 140 album credits (including some for his own band). Here are a couple I like:

The big hit off this baby was “Piece of My Heart.” The album made #1 in the US, and also sold 2 million copies as well.

Brother, brother, brother, Janis, brother:

A coupla homages:

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