Big Brother & The Holding Company
The one-time house band at San Francisco's Avalon
Ballroom, Big Brother & The Holding Company was an early Bay
Area sensation, but their raw, primitive sound drew harsh
criticism from the national press.
In 1968 - the year that Piece Of My Heart went to
number 12, lead singer Janis Joplin was persuaded to leave the
group by her management and record label.
By the time Janis died of a heroin overdose in 1970, Big
Brother was fast becoming a mere footnote to her legend. The band
long known for its fearless consumption of drugs and alcohol was
on the downhill slide, and guitarists Sam Andrews and James Gurley
were shooting up speed and heroin.
Big Brother recorded two more LPs without Janis - Be A
Brother (1970) and How Hard It Is (1971) - but both
flopped and the band split up in 1972.
Drummer David Getz said, in retrospect; "the biggest
mistake in our career was we didn't get another singer and go on
after Janis left. We could have done that. We had a big name. We
could have made records - and money."
After the band broke up, David Getz and Peter Albin (the
bassist) joined Country Joe McDonald, touring and recording as
Country Joe & The Allstars.
Albin ended up as the marketing manager for a manufacturer of
architectural models and dolls house accessories. He also played
in a part-time band called Dinosaurs, alongside former members of
Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane.
Getz became a struggling painter and printmaker.
Sam Andrews played in bar bands for a while, then turned to
teaching guitar at the Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco,
before working for an electronics company.
James Gurley kicked around the Bay Area before moving to Palm
Desert and forming proto-punk bands such as Red Robbin and The
Worms.
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