Erma Franklin

From '' Home '' Label: Stax -- STS 2026 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Country: US Released: 1969 Tracklist A1 It's Been A Long Time Coming A2 A Right Now Love A3 We Can Love A4 My Baby Specializes A5 Everybody Loves A Winner B1 Things Get Better B2 Just Plain Beautiful B3 Hard To Say Goodbye B4 Pour Your Love On Me B5 Piece Of My Heart ------------------------ "Piece of My Heart" is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns and originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. The song came to greater mainstream attention when Big Brother and the Holding Company covered the song in 1968 on their album Cheap Thrills and had a hit with it. In 2004, the Big Brother and the Holding Company version of this song was ranked Number 344 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song is also included among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Chart versions Erma Franklin's original recording: 1967 The original version of "Piece of My Heart" was recorded by Aretha Franklin's older sister Erma in 1967. The song was a top ten R&B; hit in the U.S., and also peaked at number sixty-two on the U.S. Pop Singles chart. In the UK, the single was re-released in 1992, due to a successful Levi's jeans commercial, when it peaked inside the UK Singles Chart at number nine. Big Brother and the Holding Company version: 1968 The song became a bigger pop hit when recorded by Big Brother and the Holding Company in 1968, with lead singer Janis Joplin. The song was taken from the group's album Cheap Thrills, recorded in 1968 and released on Columbia Records. This rendition made it to number twelve on the U.S. pop chart. Franklin said in an interview that when she first heard Joplin's version on the radio, she didn't recognize it because of the vocal arrangement. Noted cultural writer Ellen Willis wrote of the difference: "When Franklin sings it, it is a challenge: no matter what you do to me, I will not let you destroy my ability to be human, to love. Joplin seems rather to be saying, surely if I keep taking this, if I keep setting an example of love and forgiveness, surely he has to understand, change, give me back what I have given". In such a way, Joplin used blues conventions not to transcend pain, but "to scream it out of existence". Dusty Springfield version: 1968 British female vocalist Dusty Springfield released the song as Take Another Little Piece of my Heart on her 1968 album Dusty... Definitely. It later featured in an advert for Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate. Sammy Hagar version: 1981 A rocker rendition of the song was recorded by Sammy Hagar, and included on his 1981 album, Standing Hampton. Jenny Morris version: 1990 New Zealand singer Jenny Morris covered the song in 1990, and it was a hit in Australia peaking at number twenty-four. Faith Hill version: 1993 Country artist Faith Hill included the song on her debut album, Take Me as I Am (1993). It was a Number One hit for her in 1994. Hill's version took on a more passive tone coupled with traditional country instrumentation. Prior to recording the track, Hill had never heard Janis Joplin's rendition. Hill's producers refused to allow her to listen to the Joplin version until she had completed her own recording. This was done to allow Hill to provide her own take, based on the original demo, and not emulate Joplin. Hill has since completely re-recorded the track for the international pressing of her third album, Faith (which was re-titled "Love Will Always Win" outside the U.S.), released in 1998. This edgier version can also be found on her 2001 international greatest hits album There You'll Be, as well as the soundtrack to the show King of the Hill. Her original version was included in her 2007 greatest hits album The Hits. Melissa Etheridge/Joss Stone version: 2005 A live medley of this song with Janis Joplin & the Full Tilt Boogie Band's 1971 song "Cry Baby" became a hit duet for American rock singer Melissa Etheridge and English soul singer Joss Stone when it was released to iTunes Store after they performed it at the 47th Grammy Awards on February 13, 2005, in tribute to Joplin. The lively event reached number thirty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Digital Tracks in April 2005. The performance also signaled Etheridge's first public return from her battle with breast cancer; appearing with her head bald from the effects of chemotherapy. Etheridge also recorded a solo version of "Piece of My Heart" on her 2005 greatest hits album Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled. Beverley Knight version: 2006 On her 2005 Affirmation Tour, Beverley performed the song to great critical acclaim and her fans along with Ronnie Wood, who asked her to perform it with him, encouraged her to make a studio recording of the song. The result was that Piece of My Heart became the lead single from her 2006 best-of compilation Voice - The Best of Beverley Knight.

• published: 12 Jul 2011
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