When Janis Joplin burst on to the music scene in the mid-sixties, she shook eve-rything up. As much as the Beatles or the Vietnam war, her presence changed the face of the music industry, and in many ways, the world beyond.

Here are a few reasons I think she is one badass wom-an: She bought a headstone for her idol Bessie Smith.

At a concert on November 16th 1969 she refused to turn the volume down so the police arrested her.

She gave women in the ’60s confidence not only in who they were but to become who they wanted to be. She felt like she was giving back because of where she came from.