''Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits'' is a 1973 collection of hit songs by American singer-songwriter

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

, who died in 1970. It features live versions of ''Down on Me'' and ''Ball and Chain'' which were included on the album '' In Concert'' the previous year. The cover photo was taken at Eden Park, Cincinnati, Ohio in June 1970.

Track listing

# "

Piece of My Heart "Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart ...

" (

Bert Berns Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece ...

Jerry Ragovoy Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy (September 4, 1930 – July 13, 2011) was an American songwriter and record producer who wrote several pop songs including the instrumental " Time Is on My Side" (under the pseudonym of Norman Meade for Kai Winding), which ...

) from '' Cheap Thrills''– 4:14 # " Summertime" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

Dubose Heyward Edwin DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1925 novel '' Porgy''. He and his wife Dorothy, a playwright, adapted it as a 1927 play of the same name. The couple worked with composer Georg ...

) from ''Cheap Thrills''– 4:02 # "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (Ragovoy,

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing " Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". He is the paternal uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and former actor James Haven. He is the ...

) from ''

I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! ''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'' is the debut solo and third studio album overall by American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin, released on September 11, 1969, by Columbia Records. It was the first album which Joplin recorded after leavin ...

''– 3:57 # " Cry Baby" (Berns, Ragovoy) from ''

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

''– 4:00 # "

Me and Bobby McGee "Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posth ...

" (

Fred Foster Fred Luther Foster (July 26, 1931 – February 20, 2019) was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records and Combine Music. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbi ...

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

) from ''Pearl''– 4:31 # " Down on Me" (

) from '' In Concert''– 3:09 # "Get It While You Can" (Ragovoy,

Mort Shuman Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including " Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as ...

) from ''Pearl''– 3:27 # "Bye, Bye Baby" (

Powell St. John Rayward Powell St. John (September 18, 1940 – August 22, 2021) was an American singer, songwriter, and visual artist, active on the mid-1960s Austin, Texas campus folk/bohemian music scene. He was an occasional member of various Austin rock g ...

) from ''

Big Brother & the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company are an American rock band that was formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After so ...

''– 2:37 # "Move Over" (Joplin) from ''Pearl''– 3:44 # "

Ball and Chain A ball and chain (also known as leg irons) is a physical restraint device historically used to bind prisoners of both adolescent and adult ages. Their use was prevalent in the Americas.Charles N.Pede, "DISCIPLINE Rather Than JUSTICE: Courts-Mar ...

" (

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter of blues and R&B. The ''Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul'' described Thornton by saying: "Her booming voice, sometimes 200-pound fra ...

) from ''In Concert''– 7:59

Bonus tracks on 1999 remastered reissue

"Maybe" (Richard Barrett) from ''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!''– 3:39 # "

Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

" (Janis Joplin, Michael McClure, Bob Neuwirth) from ''Pearl''– 1:45

Sales and certifications

References

1973 greatest hits albums Janis Joplin compilation albums Compilation albums published posthumously Columbia Records compilation albums {{1970s-rock-album-stub