Janis Joplin Tour

This tour is a partial biography of Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 to October 4, 1970).  Joplin has been called the greatest while blues singer of all time.  She has been one of most influential singers to younger generations who want sing the blues.  She was also a lyricist.  She was born in Port Arthur, Texas.  In a segregated, bigoted, conservative Christian South that also valued women remaining docile, heterosexual, married, and in a home, Janis Joplin never fit into small town Port Arthur.  She had reasons to sing the blues and to leave to find her voice.

This tour is eight hours, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Port Arthur is approximately 107 miles/172 kilometers from Houston.  For the day, we will be driving about 265 miles/427 kilometers.  The drive each way takes about 1.75 hours, or about 3.5 hours round-trip.  We will arrive in Port Arthur at about 10:45 AM.  We will start in Houston by driving by the site of where Janis performed in concert at the former Sam Houston Coliseum on October 19, 1969, less than one year before she died.  We will be in Port Arthur for approximately 4.5 hours.  We will depart from Port Arthur by 3:15 PM to return to Houston by 5:00 PM.

In Port Arthur, we will:

  1. Tour the Museum of the Gulf Coast that has a permanent exhibit about the life of Janis Joplin.  Closed on Sunday.
  2. Drive by the hospital where Janis Joplin was born.
  3. Stop by the church where Joplin was baptized.
  4. Stop by the church that Joplin and her mother and sister attended during her adolescence.
  5. Stop by Joplin’s first home.  A private family lives here.
  6. Stop by Joplin’s childhood home.  A private family lives here.
  7. Stop by the elementary school that Joplin attended.
  8. Stop by the junior high school that Joplin attended.
  9. Stop by the high school that Joplin attended.
  10. Drive by the college that Joplin briefly attended.
  11. Drive by the former coffee house where Joplin frequently met her friends to drink and read poetry.
  12. Stop to read the state historical marker dedicated to Joplin.

The price of the tour includes the admission at the Museum of the Gulf Coast.  Your only other expenses will be lunch and any souvenirs that you purchase.

We can play Janis Joplin’s greatest hits on the way to and from Port Arthur.