ERMA FRANKLIN
Erma Franklin was Aretha's older sister and the first singer to record "Piece of My Heart."
She was born in Shelby, Mississippi, on March 13, 1938, and was raised in Detroit. Her father was the Reverend C.L. Franklin of the New Bethel Baptist Church. When Erma was ten years old, her parents separated. Her mother, Barbara, took Erma’s half-brother Vaughn with her to Buffalo, New York, while Rev. Franklin kept their daughters: Erma, Aretha, and Carolyn. Barbara died in 1952.
During her childhood, Erma and her sisters sang at their father’s church. While attending Northern High School, she formed a Rhythm & Blues vocal group called the Cleopatrettes. She spent two years after high school touring with her father’s gospel group and later studied Business at Clark College (now known as Clark Atlanta University). On the weekends, she performed in an Atlanta nightclub. Erma later married one Thomas Garrett and had two children with him.
Her recording career began in 1961, when she signed with Epic Records. She had several singles out on the label, as well as an album, Her Name is Erma (1962). When Aretha Franklin became a recording artist, Erma frequently sang back-up vocals on her songs, most notably “Respect.”
By 1967, Erma was on the New York-based Shout label, where she worked with songwriter-producer Bert Berns. Her 1967 recording of “Piece of My Heart” hit #10 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and crossed over to the pop market at #62. In 1992, it was used in an ad for Levi’s jeans in England. This led to the song’s reissue in that country, where it got to #9. Still, the best-known “Piece of My Heart” is the 1968 version by Big Brother & The Holding Company, with lead vocals by Janis Joplin.
While none of Franklin’s subsequent Shout releases duplicated her initial success, the label did release an LP on her, 1969’s Soul Sister. It grazed Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart at #199.
By the middle 1970s, Erma Franklin had left the music business. She spent twenty-five years working at the Boysville Holy Cross Community Center in Detroit, helping homeless and disadvantaged minority children. She died of lung cancer on September 7, 2002, at age 64.
In 2015, the RockBeat reissue label put out the CD, The Electric Flag Featuring Erma Franklin—Live 1968.
Charted singles:
“Piece of My Heart” (1967) R&B #10, Pop #62
“Gotta Find Me a Lover (24 Hours a Day)” (1969) R&B #40
Other notable Erma Franklin recordings include “What Kind of Girl,” “I Don’t Want No Momma’s Boy,” “Abracadabra,” “It’s Over,” “Big Boss Man,” “Open Up Your Soul,” “I’m Just Not Ready For Love,” “The Right to Cry,” “Saving My Love For You,” and “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder).”
