Discover the Soulful Gospel Roots of Janis Joplin's 1968 Hit 'Piece of My Heart'

Janis Joplin is one of the artists who defined the Woodstock era of rock and roll. She and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company - prototypical hippies of the now-legendary Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco - became superstars in psychedelic rock with their most recognizable hit, 1968's "Piece of My Heart."

But what you may not know is that "Piece of My Heart" is not an original song of theirs. In fact, it's actually a cover of a gospel song - a far cry from the lawless, hard-partying lifestyle of a rock star.

Aretha Franklin's Sister Sang the Original 'Piece of My Heart'

The original "Piece of My Heart" came out in 1967, just one year before Joplin's cover. Erma Franklin, Aretha Franklin's older sister, sang the original tune. While it didn't achieve the same success as the rock and roll cover version, it was by no means a total failure. It earned a Grammy nom for best female R&B vocal performance, and it even cracked the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 62. It even cracked the top 10 on the R&B chart.

Despite being totally different genres, the two versions of the song don't sound all that different. The original has saxophones and some doo-wop-esque backing vocals, but Joplin's signature raw, bluesy scream actually maintains much of the original song's integrity.

"Joplin drives a bulldozer through the sentiments expressed by the song," author Nick Coleman wrote in his book Voices: How a Great Singer Can Change Your Life (via The Guardian). "She literally screams it into subordination, beginning the confrontation with the sergeant-majorish bawl to attention, 'Co-o-ome on, come on, COME ON, co-o-o-ome on!' as if ordering reluctant listeners to assume the brace position."

When she appeared on the Dick Cavett Show in July 1969, Cavett read from a Newsweek profile on Joplin, saying, "Singing with a tortured passion has become her trademark." It also referred to her as "the first female superstar of rock and roll."

As we all know, Joplin tragically died just a year later at age 27.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 9:07 PM.