Janis Joplin died on October 4, 1970, at the Landmark Hotel in Hollywood, California, from an accidental heroin overdose at just 27 years old, days after recording the vocal track for "Me and Bobby McGee." Joplin rose to fame fronting Big Brother and the Holding Company at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, where her raw, blues drenched performance of "Ball and Chain" stunned the crowd and made her an overnight sensation. She later stepped out as a solo artist, backed by the Kozmic Blues Band and then Full Tilt Boogie Band, cementing her reputation as the most powerful female voice in rock. Her final album, Pearl, was released posthumously in early 1971 and became her only number one record, propelled by the surprise hit "Me and Bobby McGee." Joplin's death made her the second member of the infamous 27 Club within weeks of Jimi Hendrix's.

Born October 4, 1947, in Denton, Texas, Jim Fielder built one of the more well traveled resumes in 1960s rock, playing rhythm guitar in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention before briefly joining Buffalo Springfield alongside Stephen Stills and Neil Young. He found his most lasting fame as the original bassist of Blood, Sweat & Tears, the horn driven jazz rock outfit whose self titled second album swept the 1970 Grammy for Album of the Year and spun off hits like "Spinning Wheel" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy." Fielder's fluid, jazz informed basslines helped the band bridge the gap between rock rhythm sections and big band horn arrangements, a sound that influenced countless jazz rock and fusion acts that followed. He later spent decades as a touring bassist for Neil Sedaka, quietly logging one of rock's longest sideman careers.

On October 4, 1994, Danzig released their fourth album, known simply as Danzig 4, pushing frontman Glenn Danzig's occult tinged doom and horror rock into darker, more industrial tinged territory than the band's earlier records. Tracks like "Sadistikal" and "Bringer of Death" leaned into crushing, sludgy riffs courtesy of guitarist John Christ, while Danzig's Elvis inflected baritone stayed as commanding as ever over the grinding tempos. The record marked a shift away from the more traditional metal sound of Danzig and Danzig II: Lucifuge, embracing production textures closer to the industrial metal scene bubbling up in the early 1990s. Though it didn't match the commercial peak of Danzig III: How the Gods Kill, the album remains a fan favorite for its heavier, murkier atmosphere. Produced by Glenn Danzig and Rick Rubin.