‘Piece of My Heart’: Janis Joplin’s ‘Primal Scream’ Rocked the ’60s
‘200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs’ Book Excerpt
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Janis Joplin died on Oct. 4, 1970. In this excerpt from 200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs, we look back at one of Joplin’s signature tunes, “Piece of My Heart.”
When San Francisco’s Big Brother & the Holding Company released “Piece of My Heart” in 1967, the song’s highlights were Sam Andrew’s wailing, distorted guitar solos, which would help define acid rock, and blues belter Janis Joplin’s spine-chilling wail.
Though Joplin made the song her trademark, “Piece of My Heart” was first recorded in 1967 by Aretha Franklin’s older sister, Erma Franklin. The song was written by veteran songwriters Bert Berns and Jerry Ragavoy. Berns originally asked Van Morrison to record the song. Morrison, who wanted to concentrate on material he had written, declined.
Franklin’s soulful take became a Top 10 R&B hit that year and would be her biggest success. “My musical influences were what we called flat-footed gospel singers,” Franklin told Blues Music Now! “They didn’t need any routines or other musical gimmicks to get over, they just stood flat-footed and tore the house down.
“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. “It was utter chaos after that within the recording company so I got a job with a computer programming firm.”
Big Brother drummer Dave Getz told Gadfly that Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane brought them the song. “We were on our first East Coast tour in March of 1968,” said 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.”
Big Brother released its version in 1968, which reached №12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Franklin said in 1973 that Joplin’s version “is so different from mine that I really don’t resent it too much.”
Joplin’s energy builds throughout the song until it raises the roof with her powerful “Whoa, whoa, take it!” “When I first heard the primal scream in ‘Piece Of My Heart,’ I was hooked,” said Joan Jett.
“I couldn’t help but go to the mirror and pretend I was a wild woman like Janis, in a rock band.” Melissa Etheridge told Rolling Stone, “She would just kinda sing and scream and cry and she’d sound like an old black woman — which is exactly what she was trying to sound like.”
Franklin eventually recorded another album but never had much success after “Piece of My Heart.” She recorded background vocals for her sister Aretha and sometimes accompanied her on tour. Franklin died in 2002.
Janis Joplin left Big Brother in 1968 to embark on a solo career. At the time of her death in 1970, “Piece of My Heart” was Joplin’s biggest chart success.
Frank Mastropolo is the author of the 200 Greatest Rock Songs series and Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever.
