question: How did the female American rock singer and songwriter, which inspired Sexy Ester and the Pretty Mama Sisters' early music, die?
answer: heroin overdose
context: Title: Medieval folk rock
  Passage: Medieval folk rock, medieval rock or medieval folk is a musical subgenre that emerged in the early 1970s in England and Germany which combined elements of early music with rock music.  It grew out of the British folk rock and progressive folk movements of the later 1960s.  Despite the name, the term was used indiscriminately to categorise performers who incorporated elements of medieval, renaissance and baroque music into their work and sometimes to describe groups who used few, or no, electric instruments.  This subgenre reached its height towards the middle of the 1970s when it achieved some mainstream success in Britain, but within a few years most groups had either disbanded, or were absorbed into the wider movements of progressive folk and progressive rock.  Nevertheless, the genre had a considerable impact within progressive rock where early music and medievalism in general, was a major influence and through that in the development of heavy metal.  More recently medieval folk rock has revived in popularity along with other forms of medieval inspired music such as Dark Wave orientated neo-Medieval music and medieval metal.
  Title: Elizabeth Schall
  Passage: Elizabeth Schall is a female American singer, songwriter and guitarist, and founder of the death metal band Dreaming Dead.  Prior to that, she was a guitarist of the all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens and the death metal band Winterthrall.  She is married to fellow death metal musician Leon del Muerte.
  Title: Sexy Ester and the Pretty Mama Sisters
  Passage: Sexy Ester is a musical group out of Madison, Wisconsin, consisting of Lyndsay Evans (lead vocals), Adam Eder (guitar), Roscoe Evans (keyboard), Paul Kennedy (drums), and Brad Schubert (bass guitar) The earliest roots of the band go back to 2002 when Lyndsay Evans, Adam Eder, Ken Hale, and Travis Smith formed a group known as Nefarious Star and the Wyrms.  This band contained members of the defunct band Vampyres Sleep in the Shade (formerly Nimbus) along with powerhouse vocalist Lyndsay Evans.  The early music was inspired by the classic rock sounds of bands like Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin.  In 2003 the group would move from the small town of Warren, Illinois leaving behind Smith.
  Title: Janis Joplin
  Passage: Janis Lyn Joplin ( ; January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American rock singer and songwriter.  She was one of the biggest female rock stars of her era.  After releasing three albums, she died of a heroin overdose at age 27.  A fourth album, "Pearl", was released in January 1971, just over three months after her death.  It reached number one on the "Billboard" charts.
citations: Janis Joplin Sexy Ester and the Pretty Mama Sisters