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"'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 mainstream attention when Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company performed the song in 1968 on their album ''Cheap Thrills'' and had a hit with it. The song has since been remade by a vast array of singers, including hit versions by Faith Hill in 1994 and Beverley Knight in 2006.
In 2004, the Big Brother and the Holding Company version of this song was ranked #344 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Contents

Original release

Janis Joplin release

Faith Hill release

Beverley Knight release

Track listings and formats

Personnel

Other popular versions

References

Original release

The original version of "Piece of My Heart" was recorded by Aretha Franklin's older sister Erma in 1967. The song was a U.S. top 10 R&B hit and also peaked at number sixty-two on the U.S. pop chart. However, in the UK, the actual single was not released until 1992, where it peaked inside the UK Top 75 Singles at number nine.

Janis Joplin release

The song became more popular, however, 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 12 on the U.S. pop charts.
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.^[1] 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."^[2]

Faith Hill release

Country artist Faith Hill included the song on her debut 1993 album ''Take Me as I Am''. Though it met criticism from rock listeners more familiar with Joplin's version, when released as the album's second single, it topped the U.S. country singles charts in early 1994.
Hill has since re-recorded the track for the international release of her Love Will Always Win album. This version can also be found on the ''There You'll Be'' greatest hits album.

Beverley Knight release

The most recent remake of "Piece of My Heart" was by English soul singer Beverley Knight in 2006.
On her 2005 Affirmation Tour, Beverley performed the song to great critical acclaim and her fans along with Ron 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 best-of compilation ''Voice - The Best of Beverley Knight''.^[3]
Knight's version became one of her biggest hit singles to date, peaking inside the top 10 of the UK radio airplay chart. The physical single was released on 13 March 2006, however, due to a change in UK chart rules allowing singles to chart purely on downloads a week before their physical release, "Piece of My Heart" became one of the first ever singles to do so, entering the UK charts at number ninety-three on downloads alone before making number sixteen after its physical commercial release. "Piece of My Heart" was also the first Beverley single to be released on a DVD format. Knight's version became her longest running single to date on the UK singles chart, spending eleven weeks inside the top 75. It was her thirteenth top 40 entry and her seventh top 20 hit in the UK singles chart.

Track listings and formats

★ 'CD:'
#"Piece of My Heart" (album version)
#"Keep This Fire Burning" (live)

★ 'DVD:'
#"Piece of My Heart" (album version)
#"Let It Be" (live)
#"Come As You Are" (live)
#"Piece of My Heart" (video)

★ '12":'
#"Piece of My Heart" (album version)
#"Made It Back" (featuring Redman) (original version)

★ 'Download only versions:'
#"Piece of My Heart" (radio edit)
#"Piece of My Heart" (live)
#"Piece of My Heart" (remix)

Personnel

★ Written by Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy

★ Produced by Jimmy Hogarth

★ Engineered by Pom (Pierre-Olivier Magerand)

★ Mixed by Phillip Bodger

★ Lead vocals by Beverley Knight

★ Backing vocals by Bryan Chambers, Billie Godfrey, Louise Marshall

★ Wurtilizer & hammond organ by Martin Slatterty

★ Bass by Sam Dixon

★ Drums by Jeremy Stacey

★ Guitars & percussion by Jimmy Hogarth

Other popular versions

Dusty Springfield recorded the named-for-that "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart" on her 1968 album ''Dusty... Definitely''.
Rockier renditions include the 1982 remake by Sammy Hagar (which hit number seventy-three on the pop singles chart). A heavy metal version of the song was recorded by American glam metal band Rough Cutt on their ''Rough Cutt'' in 1985. The song was subsequently released as the second single. The song was also remade by Nazareth in 1989 on their ''Snakes and Ladders'' album.
New Zealand singer Jenny Morris covered the song in 1990 and was a hit in Australia peaking at number twenty-four.
A "live" medley of this song with Garnet Mimms' 1965 "Cry Baby" became a hit duet (it reached number thirty-two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100) 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 Grammy Awards in 2005, in tribute to Janis Joplin. The performance also signalled Etheridge's first public return from her battle with breast cancer; with her head bald from the effects of chemotherapy, she tore into the song in what was considered a show-stopping rendition.^[4]
On the debut season of ''American Idol'' (2002), third placer Nikki McKibbin sang it for '60s week and then a studio version was made for the ''American Idol: Greatest Moments'' album. The song was also performed in 2005 on ''American Idol'' by Carrie Underwood, who eventually won that year's competition. It was also featured on ''America's Got Talent'' when eventual winner Bianca Ryan sang the song barefoot. It was also featured on the reality show '', performed by Jill Gioia.

References

1. http://www.bluesmusicnow.com/efranklin10.html
2. ''The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll'', "Janis Joplin". Random House, 1980.
3. http://www.the-raft.com/beverleyknight
4. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnlyinAmerica/story?id=1228805