Janis Joplin’s Psychedelic Porsche To Return To Michigan

Acid-rock queen Janis Joplin’s iconic 1965 Porsche 356c Cabriolet, one of the most recognizable vehicles in San Francisco during the singer-songwriter’s brief but legendary career, is coming to Michigan next weekend, where it will be displayed at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners. The car, which Joplin purchased used for $3,500 in 1968, will be featured at the 31st annual Classic Car Club of America Experience on Sunday, June 4.

Joplin’s car will lead the parade in the place of car collector and best-selling novelist Clive Cussler, who is unable to attend due to health issues. The Joplin car is among “some of the world's most extraordinary motor cars” to be displayed at the annual event, according to a press release from the Gilmore Car Museum.

Others include the 938 Delahaye 135 MS Tear Drop Coupe created for the 1938 Paris Auto Show; a 1941 Packard 160 Limo Convertible custom built for the youngest daughter of John D. Rockefeller, considered the wealthiest person in modern history; and a 1949 Jaguar XK120, the most successful XK 120 ever raced in Argentina. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Detroit Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Joplin was known for the anthem “Mercedes Benz,” with the opening lyrics:

“Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”

Despite the lyrics, backed by the Full Tilt Boogie band, Joplin had been a Porsche driver for two years. When she purchased the 4-year-old sports car from a used car dealer in Beverly Hills, it had a dolphin gray finish that did not suit her style. She commissioned roadie Dave Roberts from her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, to create the wild psychedelic scenes.

He started with a candy apple red base coat, then decorated it with portraits of Big Brother and the Holding Company band members, skull-like faces, floating eyes, butterflies, mushrooms and other elements, including “The Eye of God” on the hood and a California valley on the passenger side door.

“It took him months to complete the paint job that he entitled ‘The History of the Universe,’” according to the press release from the Gilmore Car Museum.

Joplin used the car daily, often returning after she parked it to find at least one note under the wipers with messages from fans such as, “Keep on rockin,'” the press release said.

The car was stolen once, and the thief spray-painted it gray, but Joplin found a restoration specialist who was able to restore the psychedelic finish. After Big Brother and the Holding Company broke up, Joplin continued to drive the Porsche during her years with the Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie band.

After Joplin died in 1970, her car was used by her manager Albert Grossman. He eventually returned it to Joplin’s siblings, who continued to use it. A brother who lived in Ohio at the time rebuilt the original engine and returned it to its original color. It’s unclear how the car was used until the 1990s, when the iconic artwork was replicated by artists Jana Mitchell and Amber Owen, AutoWeek.com reported.

The car was on loan to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland from 1995 until 2015, when it sold for $1.76 million at RM Sotheby’s “Driven by Disruption” sale in New York City.

The car was part of “The Golden Age of Sports Cars, 1949-1967” exhibit at the Gilmore Car Museum last October.

Photo by Sam Howzit via Flickr Commons