Janis Joplin

As the trailblazing president of Columbia Records, Davis witnessed Janis Joplin perform with her band Big Brother and the Holding Company at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Trusting his gut, he signed the powerhouse vocalist and helped guide her through generation-defining recordings like Piece of My Heart and her posthumous number one smash Me and Bobby McGee.

Davis was heartbroken when Joplin died aged 27 in 1970 following a heroin overdose.