The Real Janis Joplin: Her Brother Michael Sets the Record Straight

The Real Janis Joplin: Her Brother Michael Sets the Record Straight

What's it like to grow up in the shadow of a rock and roll legend...and then spend your life protecting her legacy? This week, Chris sits down with Michael Joplin, younger brother of the incomparable Janis Joplin. Michael was still in high school when Janis died at 27, learning of her passing from a classmate before his own family could tell him. In this warm, funny, and surprisingly intimate conversation, he pulls back the curtain on the Janis the press never showed: a close-knit Port Arthur, Texas family; parents who ran a "debate society" at the dinner table and taught their kids to think for themselves; and a big sister who stood up against racial injustice in South Texas long before anyone called it activism. Michael shares the family's memories of watching Janis on The Ed Sullivan Show, the San Francisco scene through Chet Helms and the Avalon Ballroom, her explosive "coming out party" at the Monterey Pop Festival, and the famous fallout with promoter Bill Graham. He also opens up about the weight, and the honor, of being the "backbone" of Janis's estate alongside his sister Laura, and how he still asks one question before every decision: would this fit what my sister would want? It's a rare, personal portrait of one of music's most iconic voices, told by someone who knew her before the world did. 🎶 Janis: The Musical is on tour now: find dates at JanisJoplin.com [http://JanisJoplin.com]. Enjoy the episode? Subscribe, share, and leave a review. Learn more and connect at missodell.com [http://missodell.com].

Gary Stromberg: PR Man to the Stones, the Arrests, and the Road to Recovery

Chris O'Dell reunites with her longtime friend Gary Stromberg, the co-founder of Gibson and Stromberg PR and the man behind some of the biggest names in music history, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Ray Charles, Muhammad Ali, and Barbara Streisand. Gary shares the story of landing the Stones account after a surreal one-on-one with Mick Jagger at the Marion Davies estate, the night Keith Richards got arrested on tour (with Gary not far behind), and what it was really like inside the machine of 1970s rock and roll. The conversation takes a powerful turn as Gary opens up about his addiction, his recovery through AA, and how sobriety led him to rebuild his career doing PR for treatment centers including Cottonwood, where Chris once worked. Two old friends. A lifetime of stories. And a reminder that making it out the other side is worth celebrating.

Mal Evans: Let It Be, Lost Ashes, and the Beatles Story Nobody Knew with Guest and Beatles Historian Ken Womack

Beatles historian and author Ken Womack joins Chris O'Dell for a deep dive into the life of Mal Evans, the gentle giant who served as The Beatles' road manager, confidant, and unofficial archivist from 1963 until the band's final days. Ken shares the full story behind his book Living the Beatles Legend, including how Mal's long-lost diaries were recovered from a New York basement 12 years after his death and why we have one woman and Yoko Ono to thank for it. Chris and Ken cover Mal's contributions to Let It Be, his work producing Badfinger, his friendship with John, Paul, George, and Ringo during the solo years, and the painful unraveling that led to his death in January 1976. They also preview an upcoming project that you will want to hear about. A conversation about history, loyalty, creativity, and the people who made it all possible but rarely got the credit.

Tom Scott: Playing on Pink Floyd, George Harrison's Best Friend, and How John Williams Almost Quit Music

Tom Scott has played saxophone on records by George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, and dozens more . 15 Grammy nominations and counting. But ask him how he ended up as one of George Harrison's closest friends, and the answer starts with a UCLA summer class on Indian music and a tabla teacher named Harihar Rao. Chris O'Dell sits down with her old friend and fellow survivor of the legendary 1974 Dark Horse Tour for a wide-open conversation: the real reason that tour went sideways, what George Harrison told Bill Graham when fans wanted Beatles songs, the John Williams story Tom has never told publicly, and what Joni Mitchell and Carole King taught him about two completely different ways to be a genius. Plus what Tom is up to now including forensic arranging, jazz radio, and his own podcast hitting episode 260.

Henry Diltz: The Accidental Archivist of Rock's Golden Era

Henry Diltz, famous rock photographer and archivist, bought a $20 secondhand camera on a whim in Michigan. What followed was a 60-year photographic career that captured Woodstock, Monterey Pop, Laurel Canyon, and nearly every defining album cover of rock's greatest era. In this conversation with Chris O'Dell at The Church Studio in Tulsa, Henry tells the full story — from watching The Beatles on Ed Sullivan from a New England motel room as a folk singer, to living among Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young in Laurel Canyon, to getting a phone call from Michael Lang and a $500 airline ticket to some concert called Woodstock. He didn't plan any of it. That's what makes it remarkable. This episode covers: * The Ed Sullivan moment that ended folk music overnight * How the Laurel Canyon scene created the singer-songwriter era * Being the official photographer at Monterey Pop and Woodstock * Six decades of archiving the music that defined a generation * His cameo in Spinal Tap II * And how changing the words you use can change the way you see the world The Miss O'Dell Show is recorded at The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma , the legendary studio built by Leon Russell.