| "Piece of My Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byErma Franklin | ||||
| B-side | "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" | |||
| Released | October 1967 | |||
| Recorded | August 1967 | |||
| Genre | R&B[1] | |||
| Length | 2:35 | |||
| Label | Shout | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Bert Berns | |||
| Erma Franklin singles chronology | ||||
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| Official video | ||||
| "Piece of My Heart" onYouTube | ||||
"Piece of My Heart" is a romanticsoul song written byJerry Ragovoy andBert Berns, originally recorded byErma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on theBillboardHot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart in the United States.
The song came to mainstream attention whenBig Brother and the Holding Company featuringJanis Joplin on lead vocalscovered the song in 1968 for the albumCheap Thrills and had a much bigger hit, after which Franklin's version was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the11th Annual Grammy Awards. The song has since been remade byDusty Springfield, also in 1968,Faith Hill in 1994 and as a duet byMelissa Etheridge andJoss Stone in 2005.
In 2004, the Big Brother and the Holding Company version was ranked No. 353 onRolling Stone's list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song is also included amongThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 1999, the version of the song byBig Brother and The Holding Company was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[2]
The original version of "Piece of My Heart" was recorded byAretha Franklin's older sisterErma Franklin in 1967 for producerBert Berns'Shout label with "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" on the b-side of the 7-inch vinyl single. Bert Berns askedVan Morrison, whom he was producing, to record the song, but Morrison declined, preferring to do his own material.
The song reached number 10 in December 1967 on theBillboardHot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart in the United States and also peaked at number 62 on theBillboardPop Singles chart.[3] In Canada, it reached number three on the CKFH Soul Survey.Cash Box said that it "starts with less volume than might be expected, which only emphasizes the build that follows."[4]Record World said "Gospel-shouting side from Erma will turn into a terrific one. Girl really does it."[5]
Franklin's single was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, with the winner to be revealed in March 1969 at the11th Annual Grammy Awards.[6] The award went to Franklin's sister Aretha for the song "Chain of Fools".
In the United Kingdom and some other European countries the single was re-released in 1992 after it appeared in a popularLevi's jeans commercial ("Cinderella" a.k.a. "Night and Day" directed byTarsem Singh). The reissue peaked at number 5 in Denmark, number 9 in the Netherlands and theUK Singles Chart, and number 10 on theIrish Singles Chart.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| "Piece of My Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the 1968 Dutch single | ||||
| Single byBig Brother and the Holding Company | ||||
| from the albumCheap Thrills | ||||
| B-side | "Turtle Blues" | |||
| Released | August 1968 (1968-08) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:15 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producer | John Simon | |||
| Big Brother and the Holding Company singles chronology | ||||
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The song became a biggerpop hit when recorded byBig Brother and the Holding Company in 1968 with lead singerJanis Joplin.[23][24] The song was taken from the group's albumCheap Thrills, recorded in 1968 and released onColumbia Records. This four-minute, 15-second rendition made it to number 12 on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100 chart.[citation needed]Billboard called it "dynamite," stating that "this raucous dance treatment will rock up the Hot 100."[25]Cash Box said that it is an "explosive performance" with a "power-packed Janis Joplin vocal" and also praised the backing band.[26] The album release was the culmination of a hugely successful year for Joplin with acclaimed performances at theMonterey Pop Festival, Anderson Theater in New York, the wake forMartin Luther King Jr. (withJimi Hendrix) in New York and on TV's prime-timeThe Dick Cavett Show.[citation needed]
The song's instrumentation was arranged bySam Andrew, who performed three distorted, loud guitar solos for a psychedelic touch. TheB-side was "Summertime". Another version had the B-side "Turtle Blues".[citation needed]
Franklin said in an interview that when she first heard Joplin's version on the radio, she did not recognize it because of the vocal arrangement.[27] Cultural writerEllen 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". This way, Joplin usedblues conventions not to transcend pain, but "to scream it out of existence".[28]
Until her death in 1970, "Piece of My Heart" was Joplin's biggest chart success and best-known song. ("Me and Bobby McGee", whichKris Kristofferson wrote, eclipsed "Piece of My Heart" when it appeared after her death in 1970. It went to number 1 in 1971). "Piece of My Heart" remains most associated with Joplin and continued to get airplay long after her death. Berns never got to hear Joplin's version, dying of a heart attack on December 30, 1967.[29]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[30] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[31] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Piece of My Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byFaith Hill | ||||
| from the albumTake Me as I Am | ||||
| B-side | "I Would Be Stronger Than That" | |||
| Released | January 13, 1994[32] | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 4:01 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. Nashville | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | Scott Hendricks | |||
| Faith Hill singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Piece of My Heart" onYouTube | ||||
Americancountry artistFaith Hill included the song on her debut album,Take Me as I Am (1993); her version reached No. 1 on the USBillboardHot Country Songs chart in 1994. Hill's version was more passive, with traditional country instrumentation. Prior to recording it, Hill had no knowledge of the song.[33] The accompanying music video won an award for Best New Artist Clip of the Year in the category for Country at the 1994Billboard Music Video Awards.[34][35]
Hill re-recorded the track for thesoundtrack to the television seriesKing of the Hill, released in 1999. This edgier version can also be found on the 1998 international pressing of her third album,Faith (re-titledLove Will Always Win outside the US) and 2001 international greatest hits albumThere You'll Be. Her original version was included in her 2007 compilation albumThe Hits.
At the time Hill recorded her version of "Piece of My Heart", she had no knowledge of the song or Joplin's rendition. Hill's producers told her not to listen to the Joplin version until she had completed her own recording. Hill toldBillboard magazine in February 1994, "When that song was brought to me, it was acountry version. When I was recording it, everybody was like, 'Oh God, that's Janis Joplin', and I was thinking, 'What's the big deal?' I knew who Janis Joplin was, but I didn't really know any of her stuff. WhenWarner Bros. found out that I had not heard the original, they said, 'Whatever you do, do not listen to her version until you have finished your record.' When we finished, and they played it for me, I listened to it twice through and thought, 'Dadgum, how in the world did I ever cover that song?'"[33]
Upon the release,Larry Flick fromBillboard wrote, "One test of a great song is the way it stands up to different interpretations. Hill's sunny, effervescent take on this one is the stylistic flipside of Janis Joplin's go-for-broke, raw-throated approach, but if it works, it works."[36] Cyndi Hoelzle and Lisa Smith from theGavin Report said, "How long did it take you to recognize this song? Faith takes Janis Joplin's classic (actually a 1968 hit for her bandBig Brother and The Holding Company) and transforms it into a driving countrified lament."[37]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| "Piece of My Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byShaggy featuring Marsha | ||||
| from the albumMidnite Lover | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Dancehall | |||
| Length | 4:17 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Shaggy featuring Marsha singles chronology | ||||
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Jamaicanreggae artistShaggy covered the song on his self-produced and fourth album,Midnite Lover (1997). The single featuring Marsha was a top 10 hit in Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, peaking at number four, six and seven, respectively.[43]
A reviewer fromMusic Week gave this version a score of three out of five, adding, "Shaggy's fast-paced vocals get somewhat overshadowed by the smooth, silky presence of Marsha on this unadventurous remake of the Erma Franklin hit."[44]Music Week editor Alan Jones noted that "Shaggy returns in fine style", concluding that "the result is a summery and unique treat, with the Shagmeister's verses interspersed by a fine femme vocalist—credited as Erma herself in sample form, though definitely not."[45] Andy Winter fromSmash Hits wrote that it "will have you wrigglin' like a sackful of snakes!"[46]
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[47] | 4 |
| Italy Airplay (Music & Media)[48] | 2 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ) | 6 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 7 |
| USBillboardHot 100 | 72 |
A livemedley of this song with Janis Joplin and theFull Tilt Boogie Band's 1971 song "Cry Baby" became a hit duet for Americanrock singerMelissa Etheridge and English soul singerJoss Stone when it was released toiTunes Store after they performed it at the47th Grammy Awards on February 13, 2005, in tribute to Joplin. Etheridge had previously sung it atWoodstock '94 as part of a four-song medley of Joplin tunes.[29]
Etheridge's medley with Joss Stone made number 32 in theBillboard Hot 100 and number 2 on theHot Digital Tracks in April 2005. The performance also signaled Etheridge's first public return from her battle withbreast cancer; appearing with her head bald from the effects ofchemotherapy.[49] Etheridge also recorded a solo version of "Piece of My Heart" on her 2005 greatest hits albumGreatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled.
| "Piece of My Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) CD single cover | ||||
| Single byBeverley Knight | ||||
| from the albumVoice - The Best of Beverley Knight | ||||
| Released | March 13, 2006 (2006-03-13) | |||
| Length |
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| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | Jimmy Hogarth | |||
| Beverley Knight singles chronology | ||||
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On her 2005 Affirmation Tour, English soul singerBeverley Knight performed the song withRonnie Wood, which encouraged her to make a studio recording of the song. "Piece of My Heart" was the lead single from her 2006 best-of compilationVoice - The Best of Beverley Knight. It peaked inside the top 10 of the UK radio airplay chart. The physical single was released on March 13, 2006.[50]
Due to a change in the UK chart rules which allowed singles to chart purely on downloads a week before their physical release, "Piece of My Heart" entered the UK chart at number 93, becoming one of the first singles to do so. It peaked at number 16 after its physical commercial release. It was Knight's first single to be released as aDVD. It is her longest-running single to date on the UK Singles Chart, spending 11 weeks inside the top 75. It was her thirteenth top 40 entry and her seventh top-20 hit on the UK Singles Chart.
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scotland Singles (OCC)[51] | 8 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[52] | 16 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[53] | 8 |
