People expect Janis Joplin to be a tough bitch, and say I start talking to them like a lonely little girl-that's not in their image of me-they don't see it. Say you meet somebody you've heard about, you don't ever see them, you don't see who they are and who they need to be recognized as, you see who you need them to be.

The reason we're successful, darling? My overall charisma, of course.

People think I'm an ogre at times. Some girls hissed at me in the street...'You devil.' They think we're really nasty. But that's only on stage. Off stage, well I'm certainly not an ogre.

I'm a flamboyant person. I like to live life. I certainly work hard for it, and I want to have a good time. Don't deny me that. It might not come again and I want to enjoy myself a little.

The Carmen Miranda of rock 'n' roll. But what can I say? I'm a flamboyant personality. I like going out and having a good time.

I am a romantic, but I do put up a barrier around myself, so it is hard for people to get in and to know the real me.