Janis Joplin – Pearl

Originally released on January 11, 1971, (three months after her passing on October 4, 1970), Pearl debuted Joplin's final finished studio recordings. The only album Joplin ever recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, the touring ensemble that had backed her on the Festival Express (a mythic 1970 concert tour by railroad across Canada with the Grateful Dead, the Band and others), Pearl included canonical studio recordings of songs that had been introduced to audiences on tour.

Peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, a position it held for nine weeks, Pearl included some of Janis's most familiar and best-loved performances including her cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" and her off-the-cuff a cappella "Mercedes Benz."