Janis Ian and Janis Joplin -- musically and personally you could not find two women so different. Although both began their musical careers in the sixties, Janis Joplin was a bluesy rocker, burned bright and died young, while Janis Ian was more folksy, a story teller, and is still alive today. But both women had one big thing in common, aside from their first name: they were both trailblazers and activists, in their own unique ways, and gave us some memorable music. Were you more of a Janis Ian or Janis Joplin fan?

Kyra Gordon is a jazz & blues vocalist from California, and she has put together a stage production based on the music and lives of these very different women set to debut this month, called "Loving Janis: the music of Janis Ian and Janis Joplin". Kyra says both women were huge influences on her. "For me, Janis Joplin was all about her charisma as a performer and the trance [of the performance]. Janis Ian tells stories about life and the human experience." Together, the music of both women has endured as some of the best music of that era. Is this a show that you would like to go see?

Janis Joplin, born Janis Lyn Joplin ( January 19, 1943) was known for her electric stage performance, her hard partying lifestyle and her unique, gravely voice. She died at age 27, of a heroin overdose. In 1967, Joplin rose to fame during an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. After releasing two albums with the band, she left Big Brother to continue as a solo artist with her own backing groups, first the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band. She appeared at the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour. Five singles by Joplin went into the Billboard Hot 100, including a cover of the song "Me and Bobby McGee", which reached number 1 in March 1971. Her most popular songs include her cover versions of "Piece of My Heart", "Cry Baby", "Down on Me", "Ball and Chain", and "Summertime"; and her original song "Mercedes Benz". Did you know any of these facts about Janis?

Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s; her most widely recognized song, "At Seventeen", was released as a single from her 1975 album Between the Lines which reached number 1 on the Billboard chart. Ian entered the American folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-1960s. Most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century. She has won two Grammy Awards, the first in 1975 for "At Seventeen" and the second in 2013 for Best Spoken Word Album, for her autobiography, Society's Child. How many other facts about Janis Ian did you know?

Between the two, they have given us some of the best quotes about being yourself, our society, fame and following your passion. Here are just a few. Which ones do you like?