Janis Joplin on the cover of the San Fernando Valley State College (now CSUN) Daily Sundial Weekend edition. Big Brother and the Holding Company were set to play at the Valley State gymnasium on Sunday, May 12. Lead singer for the band was Janis Joplin, considered one of the greatest female blues vocalists of all time. Big Brother and the Holding Company signed a three-record deal with Columbia Records, and released "Cheap Thrills" in 1968. Joplin sang with the band for only a short time; their last show together was Christmas 1968. Newspaper, 16.5 x 10.5 in.