busted flat in baton rouge

Co-written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster (producer and songwriter who helped launch the careers of Roy Obison, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton), the posthumously released cover by Janis Joplin reached its peak at number on the US singles charts on this day in 1971, ranking overall the eleventh best song of the year. At that point, the only other song to achieve that level of success was “(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding in 1968. The gender-neutral name of the titular character, with the recording studio secretary Barbara “Bobbie” McKee originally in mind, has given the song’s singers and subjects a fluidity with little to no lyrical adjustment.