Dear Radio Dodo Listener,
It's late, late at night on Radio Dodo. So late it is early; and speaking of early, speaking of what comes before, I have your song of the night: Piece of My Heart.
Now, you may know this version already; or you may be hearing in ignorance, for years, decades, a lifetime- hearing the wrenching (too wrenching? Stagey, hammed, rococo, even?) Janis Joplin version. It's a real anthem for the female half of heterosexual relationships and I love this song, in any version, but I want to set my own self and the record (pun intended) straight: this song was written by *two (dead) white guys, and first recorded my Erma Franklin, and I am embarrassed to say, I had never heard her name before. I don't think I need to explain to you why not knowing Ms. Franklin is a pity and a structural racism thing, but I do need to make one thing very clear: There is no Janis Joplin version without the instructions on how to sing it that Erma Franklin gives.
I might even, I might just, make an argument that the restraint, the processional feel of this version builds to an even deeper contrast in the pitched chorus- but the thing is, I don't want to fight you, I just want you to hear this great song, and I know you already know this story, the story of what the hell is there of White music if you subtract Black music from it.
*Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy. These two children of Jewish immigrants wrote some absolutely essential songs, and they both went in for pseudonyms.
Nota bene: There are, according to Second Hand Songs, 153 recorded versions of Piece of My Heart. I think that listening to Franklin and Joplin's versions back to back is a worthwhile thing to do. But, you have the internet, too, so you do what you like; I am only here/hear to tell you that a Black woman sang it first.
PS Oh, yeah, and if you have ever heard this, you should know the instructions for singing it can be found, here, filed under Irma Thomas (music by Norman Meade/Jerry Ragovoy, additional lyrics by Jimmy Norman). If you want firsts, you get Kai Winding With Vocal Group (the Gospelaires (the who? Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, and Cissy Houston)). And I'll bet you've never heard that, either!
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