Saturday Morning Soul: ERMA FRANKLIN

Erma Vernice Franklin (March 13, 1938 – September 7, 2002) was an American soul, rhythm and blues, and pop singer. Her best known record is the original version of "Piece of My Heart," written and produced by Bert Berns. The song was covered in a different arrangement by Janis Joplin, Faith Hill, British soul singers Beverley Knight and Dusty Springfield; and used as the basis of a song by Shaggy.

She was born in Shelby, Mississippi, but moved several times during her childhood before settling in Detroit, Michigan. Her mother Barbara (Erma's middle name, 'Vernice', was also her mother's middle name), who was a gospel singer, left the family when she, her two sisters, and her brother were young children. Erma and her sisters, Aretha and Carolyn, sang at their father, Reverend C. L. Franklin's, Detroit-area Baptist church. Though Aretha went on to great fame, Erma, like Carolyn, was a struggling musician. Their brother, Cecil, became a minister like their father and managed Aretha's career for a while.

Her career was hampered by misfortune and by contracts with recording companies who could not find appropriate material for her. In the 1970s she left the music business, apart from engagements with her sister Aretha. She died in 2002 after a long battle with throat cancer at the age of 64. (wikipedia)