“British invasion, my ass!”: How Janis Joplin got revenge on The Rolling Stones – Far Out Magazine
(Credit: Alamy)
Squinting into the warm California sunshine, Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones stood on the threshold of a cultural phenomenon – it was 1964; rock ‘n’ roll had been in full swing in America for nearly a decade, but now the British had arrived. As the band travelled from state to state, spreading the rock and roll message of their blues-influenced sounds, the musical landscape of America changed indefinitely.
As wave after wave of British bands made the trip across the Atlantic, the United States became irreversibly infatuated with these new and exciting sounds. Seemingly all you needed to have a successful music career in the US during the 1960s was a British accent and a penchant for blues rock, leading to bizarre scenarios which would see people growing up among the sun-soaked golden beaches of California while yearning for a life in Liverpool.
Alongside the advent of British rock, the hippie movement and anti-war protests were on the rise within the country. These disparate cultural movements soon went hand-in-hand, with The Stones in particular penning some of the greatest tracks of the anti-war era. However, this kind of cultural colonialism did not wash well with American artists who weren’t gifted with a British accent and sub-par dental hygiene.
The thought of Mick Jagger hijacking the sounds of Black American artists and repackaging them for a new generation of gullible Americans was rushing through the mind of Janis Joplin as she sat in a helicopter above Los Angeles. With the distant vocals of Mick Jagger echoing through her mind, blending into the deafening noise of the propellers above her. A plan had been formulated.
You see, this was no ordinary helicopter. This luxury copter was the transporter of America’s biggest music stars. Joplin knew that the next group to go up in the vehicle would be The Rolling Stones. Seemingly, the thought of Mick Jagger running into difficulty with his signature satin white trousers was an idea that Joplin simply could not pass up on.
Turning to her friend, Grand Funk Railroad co-founder Mark Farner, Joplin produced some chocolate bars and began to smear the white plush seats of the helicopter with the chocolate, melting under the intense heat of the Californian sun. “British invasion, my ass,” she exclaimed, with the intense infliction of somebody destroying the interior of a helicopter. “Those guys sing in American English because we are the only ones free”. Joplin continued to shout in an ever-maddening frenzy. “Those guys are born subject to the crown; those guys are born assholes!”
It is unclear whether Jagger’s satin white trousers ever faced the wrath of Joplin’s melted chocolate booby trap, though the tale – later recounted by Farner to Ultimate Classic Rock – is a testament to the fearless rebellion and individualism of the great Janis Joplin.
