JANIS JOPLIN SIGNS AN HISTORIC CONCERT PERFORMANCE CONTRACT ONE WEEK AFTER WOODSTOCK
1969 Janis Joplin Signed Concert Performance Contract. Exactly one week after taking the stage at the iconic Woodstock Music & Art Fair in Bethel, New York, Joplin took to the stage of the Asbury Park (NJ) Convention Hall, her first performance after the legendary festival. There a nineteen-year-old Bruce Springsteen arrived shortly before the encore. A 2014 story in the Asbury Park Press recalls the scene:
“Joplin quickly spied a long-haired Springsteen watching her perform. When she got offstage at the end of her set, Joplin made a beeline for Springsteen, Lopez said.
“She grabbed Bruce and wrapped her leg around him,” Lopez said. “She was giving him that look, like, ‘Where have you been all my life?’ ” But her manager urged Joplin to go back out for an encore.
When she did, a wild-eyed, startled Springsteen quickly made his escape, racing out through a fire door and disappearing onto the nighttime boardwalk.
This did not please Joplin, who came offstage searching for the young singer. Instead she found only Lopez, Roslin and West.
“She said, ‘Which way did he go?’ ” Lopez said. “We just pointed and said, ‘He went thataway.’ ” It was like a cartoon.”
Presented is the four-page contract that brought two Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame legends together, determining the sizeable financials of Joplin’s performance and terms assuring her sole billing, ticket prices, and a stage and dressing room of acceptable proportions. Joplin and a representative of the Convention Hall sign the last page in 9+/10 ink. The pages themselves, stapled together at upper left corner, exhibit no faults beyond typical handling wear.
Joplin performance contracts are considered the most desirable of the meager population of her autographed material, and this is an example that brushes up against both Woodstock and Springsteen making it of particular note. It’s a thrilling relic from one of the most historic years of the post-war era. Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Auction LOA from James Spence Authentication.
