When Janis Joplin stepped into the studio for what would be her last recording, no one knew the words she’d say at the end of that session would stay with fans for more than five decades. It wasn’t a farewell concert or a goodbye message.
It was one line, spoken casually after a bluesy a cappella track: “That’s it,” followed by a laugh. Today, that moment is being seen in a new light, thanks to a Reddit post from a lifelong fan who couldn’t shake the feeling that those last words held more weight than anyone realized.
Janis Joplin’s final hours
Just realized the last words Janis Joplin recorded were “that’s it.”
byu/gogertie inblues
Janis Joplin was just 27 when she died on October 4, 1970. She was found dead on the floor of her hotel room at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Los Angeles. Her road manager and close friend, John Byrne Cooke, made the heartbreaking discovery. An autopsy later revealed that she died of a heroin overdose, likely mixed with alcohol.
Joplin was cremated at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park, and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean. Her death shook the music world. She had been in the middle of recording her album Pearl, which would later become one of her biggest successes. The last full song she recorded was Mercedes Benz, a short, soulful piece performed without any instruments. At the end, she laughed and said, “That’s it.” No one knew it then, but that really was it.
Fans say: “It gives me chills”
A longtime fan recently shared their thoughts on Reddit, writing, “Mercedes Benz was the final song Janis recorded before her death… I never thought about it before, but that really was it. That’s the last we ever heard from Janis. Gives me chills.” Many users responded, expressing sadness over her early death and imagining what her career might have looked like if she had lived longer. One person wrote, “Listening to her makes me really sad sometimes. Just thinking about how young she was and how much she had to offer the world when she went.”
Another fan recalled the first time they saw her album cover, saying they were obsessed with her image and voice from a young age. Interestingly, Janis was scheduled to record another song, Buried Alive in the Blues, the day she died. She never got the chance. That song ended up being released as an instrumental on Pearl.