When Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970, she left behind a will that included an offbeat, albeit totally in-character, stipulation: $2500 of her estate should be dedicated to funding a hard-partying wake in her memory.
Joplin’s loved ones threw the bash three weeks later, on October 26, 1970. The “wake” was held at the Lion’s Share, a popular rock venue in San Anselmo, California, which had hosted many of Joplin’s gigs as well as acts such as Van Morrison, Country Joe and the Fish, and even Randy Newman (who performed his very first concert at the Lion’s Share).