The hit single “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin is from the seventies.
Joplin recorded the song in 1970, shortly before her death, and her version was released posthumously in 1971 on the album Pearl. It became her only No. 1 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and one of the defining recordings of her career.
The song was written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, and Roger Miller recorded it first in 1969. Its title came from a misunderstanding: Kristofferson heard the name “Bobbie McKee,” but wrote “Bobby McGee.” The song tells a road-story of two drifters who travel together before separating in California.
A common mix-up is dating the recording rather than the hit. Although Joplin recorded it in 1970, the single’s major release and chart success occurred in 1971, placing the hit firmly in the 1970s.