Erma Franklin was one of soul’s standout singers of the ’60s when she released “Piece of My Heart,” and never suspected it would become one of rock and roll’s defining hits thanks to Janis Joplin.
The romantic soul song was originally written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, and recorded by Aretha Franklin‘s older sister in 1967 and released that same year. Before Franklin, Berns had originally asked Van Morrison to record the track, but he declined, preferring his own music.
Franklin’s version was met with success as it landed at No. 10 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That wasn’t all; the popularity behind the soul track led Franklin to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. At the awards ceremony, Franklin actually lost to her sister with her track “Chain of Fools.”
While “Piece of My Heart” was a hit for Franklin, chaos struck as she was ready to record her next album.
“Right after ‘Piece of My Heart’ broke and we were ready to record my next album, Bert Berns, the writer and co-owner of Shout Records, died suddenly of a heart attack,” Franklin recalled, according to Medium. “It was utter chaos after that within the recording company so I got a job with a computer programming firm.”
The soul track would gain new life a year later in 1968 when Janis Joplin led the vocals for her cover with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Their cover was released before Joplin embarked on a solo career, but undoubtedly helped make her mark in the industry. It was released on the band’s Cheap Thrills album and landed at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with critics calling it an “explosive performance” by Joplin with “power-packed” vocals.
“We were on our first East Coast tour in March of 1968,” said Big Brother drummer Dave Getz. “Jack came to rehearsal and said, ‘I wanna play this song for you. I think you guys could do it.’ We loved it! Janis loved it.”
Joplin’s vocals and the band’s cover would cement themselves as a rock anthem and be included among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was even one of Rolling Stone‘s “Greatest Songs of All Time.”
With Joplin’s version outshining Franklin’s, the soul singer once revealed she never thought much of it. She also didn’t recognize it was her track due to the drastic changes in vocal arrangement.
“Her version is so different from mine that I really don’t resent it too much,” said Franklin in 1973, according to SongFacts.
The hit track would also be covered by a few artists decades later, like country singer Faith Hill. Her version was a No. 1 hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1994. Surprisingly, Hill had no idea Franklin and Joplin recorded the track and was advised by her record label to not listen to the rock icon’s version until she was done with her recording. After listening to Joplin’s, Hill thought, “Dadgum, how in the world did I ever cover that song?”
Related: 1979 Soft Rock Song, Nearly Shelved by Steve Forbert, Is Still a Breakthrough Hit 47 Years Later
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