 In the late afternoon of Sunday, October 4, 1970, producer Paul Rothchild became concerned when Joplin failed to show up at Sunset Sound Recorders for a recording session in which she was scheduled to provide the vocal track for the instrumental track of the song "Buried Alive in the Blues".In the evening, Rothchild phoned the Landmark Motor Hotel and reached Full Tilt Boogie's road manager, John Cooke, Joplin’s close friend who was staying at the Landmark in a room that was not near hers, according to his 2014 book "On the Road with Janis Joplin".Rothchild expressed his concern over her absence from Sunset Sound Recorders and asked Cooke to search for her.