While Janis Joplin did write some of her own material, she wasn’t a traditionally prolific songwriter.

Instead, she built her legacy on the way she could take a song and make it feel completely personal to her. 

Few artists have ever been better at reshaping a song with pure emotion like Janis. It’s really the reason she’s so well known for her powerhouse vocals. 

Janis did co-write a handful of important songs, and her songwriting skills were just blooming before her untimely death.

“Mercedes Benz” came from a loose, joking moment with poet Michael McClure and musician Bob Neuwirth.

“Move Over” was one of the strongest songs on her final album Pearl, and was written entirely by Joplin. The tune shows how sharp and direct her writing could be.

A lot of Janis’ most notable songs came from other writers. “Piece of My Heart,” “Cry Baby,” and “Ball and Chain” were covers that she transformed into signature performances.

“Me and Bobby McGee,” written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, became a posthumous hit because of the way she delivered it. 

We may never know the potential of Janis Joplin’s songwriting, but her genius was in how she deliver a song she loved in an entirely new way.