U.S. Postal Service Unveils Janis Joplin Stamp
Weeks before Janis Joplin is scheduled to join Jimi Hendrix on the list of new honorees in the U.S. Postal Service's Music Icons series of commemorative stamps, we've been granted our first glimpse of what the artwork will look like.
As we previously reported, the Music Icons series is slated to include a wide variety of properly iconic artists, starting with Hendrix -- whose stamp debuted in the spring -- and continuing through Joplin, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, and Roy Orbison, as well as a number of performers outside the rock arena. As a USPS representative told Rolling Stone after the Hendrix stamp premiered, "I definitely see that we need to pay a little honor to some other genres that haven't been covered. For example, jazz is something that will be in the foreseeable future, or Motown and types of music that we need to recognize."
Although we still don't know the specific release date for Joplin's stamp, the Postal Service intends to have it out sometime in August; Linns.com has posted a look at the artwork, as well as the Joplin biography printed on the stamp sheet, which reads, "Janis Joplin (1943-1970) was a groundbreaking singer whose powerful, bluesy voice propelled her to the pinnacle of rock stardom. An icon of the 1960s, she was known for her uninhibited and soulful performances. Joplin is now recognized as one of the greatest rock singers of all time, as well as a pioneer who paved the way for other women in rock music."