What do Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison have in common with CarNewsCafe? Their love of cars and music.
It’s not often we get to mix the both of best worlds, music and cars. Most people remember Jimi Hendrix for his right-hand Fender Stratoscaster turn lefty and Purple Haze, Janis Joplin for her Mercedes Benz song and Jim Morrison for lighting our fire but few might know those three behemoths of music were also car fanatics.
Janis’ Porsche Love Affair.
Janis Joplin fell in love with the new 1965 Porsche 356C Cabriolet and wouldn’t own her first until two years later when her first album finally hit the airwaves. With only 14,166 356C produced, Janis finally had her convertible with disc brakes and a 90 Super engine. What makes Janis’ Porsche extra special was the paint job as you see from the picture. Quickly a more Janis paint job covered the car and made as unique as she was. I guess a Mercedes Benz wasn’t what she was after all.
Jimi and His Love Affairs With Corvettes.
Jimi played guitar backward, forward and with his teeth. But how many people knew he had a love affair with Corvettes? In his short lived meteorite life, Jimi Hendrix owned not one Corvette, but two. The first, a Stingray he bought in 1968 while touring was short lived. After owning it less than a year he wrecked it. He claimed it with his insurance and undeterred took delivery of a replacement Corvette.
The Lizard King and The Mustang.
After the incredible success of Light My Fire, not only did The Doors move from playing in obscure local bars to stadiums. Jim Morrison was given a brand new 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 by none other than Elektra Records’ headman Jac Holzman. Affectionately dubbed “The Blue Lady,” Jim’s GT500 had a parchment interior, Night Mist Blue metallic body, a hefty 428 Police Interceptor with dual quad Holley carbs, and four-speed transmission. The rest you guessed it. Jim Morrison drove his Ford Mustang hard, as hard as his well-known partying habits.
What Happened To The Rides?
Janis’ Porsche is at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately the original paint is gone, but a replica of the original art work now adorns it. As to Jimi and Jim’s rides, no one knows exactly where they are. We can be sure they are resting somewhere out there in a little tucked away private garage. Ah, tough is the life of music star cars.
According to HistoricVehicle.org. Anyone else I forgot?
