“Lyn”s early years gave no clue to the turbulent life she would live. She grew up in a typical small Texas town, in a family that was not out of the ordinary. Her Daddy labored at an oil refinery and her Momma was a domestic goddess. Life was rosy and sweet for the young girl.
What was
her name?What was her name?
Throughout her childhood, Lyn was considered pretty, friendly and smart. Her artistic nature showed itself early. Lyn was a skilled painter, acted in school plays and sang in the church choir. In the choir, her lovely contralto singing voice was greatly appreciated and utilized often for solos.
But, puberty was cruel to Lyn. A horrible case of acne ravaged her face and her self-esteem. By the time Lyn reached high school, she had become wild, unruly and unpredictable. She had gained a lot of weight, and in defiance, Lyn began to dress in men’s clothing and act like she was tough thug. Her language was vulgar and she was quick to anger. The poor misfit had much to be angry about, for she became the butt of every cruel teenage joke imagineable. But, underneath the outer core, she was just another sad and lonely teenager crying out for someone to love her.
As soon as she could, Lyn got out of that stifling Texas town and went to the bright lights that beckoned in California. There, she ran with a rough crowd and “lived a hard life,” as my Mamaw would say. She became a famous celebrity “bad girl,” but Lyn didn’t get to enjoy it for long. It’s not just the good who die young. Lyn died before she reached her thirties.
You know Lyn’s real name. Can you guess without me telling you? Give it a try, and I’ll post about it later.

























Several have looked, but no one has hazarded a guess. She was a singer…does that help?
Um, I’ll take a shot…was it Janet Joplin?
Okay, let’s correct that…ROFL…Janis, not Janet. It’s still early!
Besides the fact that this story is very sad, it doesn’t ring a bell. Maybe it was a local singer and not known in Europe ? I will see later when you “let out” your secret !
I’m gonna guess Janis Joplin, too, and the weird thing is that right as I was reading your post, I was listening to music on SIRIUS classic vinyl, and they were playing “Down on Me.”
Cue Twilight Zone theme: “Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo…”
(Be funny if I was wrong.
)
I have no idea, but when I saw Ceeci’s response, I thought it was that. I just looked up Selena in wikipedia and it can’t be her, since she had success at a young age and wasn’t bad.
So I think Ceeci may be right!
Thank you all for playing! I was out of town most of today, and I’m glad that you tried to answer. You were right! And, your Grand Prize: well, it’s probably not so grand, but I linked you on the next post.
[...] hairdresser this morning had a first guess of Anna Nicole Smith. But, my mystery tough woman was Janis Lyn Joplin, who was raised in Port Arthur, Texas. She died in 1970 of a heroin [...]