Erma Vernice Franklin (March 13, 1938 – September 7, 2002) was an American gospel and soul singer. She recorded the original version of "Piece of My Heart", written and produced by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns in 1967, for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award. A cover version of the same song was recorded the following year by Big Brother and the Holding Company, with lead vocals by Janis Joplin. Franklin was the elder sister of singer Aretha Franklin.
Biography
Early life and family
Erma Franklin was born in Shelby, Mississippi, United States, the oldest daughter of Barbara (née Siggers) and the Reverend C. L. Franklin. She was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where her father was pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church. She was raised by both parents until the age of 10, when her parents separated for the final time. Her mother took her eldest sibling, half-brother Vaughn, with her to Buffalo, New York, in 1948. Barbara Siggers-Franklin died on March 7, 1952, in Buffalo.
Franklin studied Business at Clark Atlanta University (then named "Clark College").
Career
During her childhood, Erma and her sisters Aretha and Carolyn sang at New Bethel Baptist Church. When Aretha became a recording artist, Erma provided backing vocals and toured with her. Erma sang backup for her sister Aretha on Aretha's signature tune "Respect".
In the mid-1970s, Franklin left the music industry, apart from occasional engagements with her sister. She was one of the special guests on Aretha's 1986 Showtime cable television special — filmed at Detroit's Music Hall — and also performed on June 28, 1990, at Nelson Mandela's rally at Tiger Stadium.
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|1962
|Her Name Is Erma
| align=center| —
|Epic
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|1969
|Soul Sister
| align=center| 199
|Brunswick
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|2015
|The Electric Flag Featuring Erma Franklin - Live 1968<br><small>(with The Electric Flag)</small>
| align=center| —
|RockBeat
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| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
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Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" colspan="9"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:9em;"| Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:2.6em; font-size:90%;"|US<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.6em; font-size:90%;"|US<br>R&B<br>/HH<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"| BEL<br>(FL)<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"| DEN<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"| IRE<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"| NLD<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"| SWE<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"|UK<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"|UK R&B<br>
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! scope="row"|"Hello Again"
|rowspan="2"| 1961
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|rowspan="3"| Her Name Is Erma
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! scope="row"|"What Kind of Girl"
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! scope="row"|"Time After Time"
|rowspan="2"| 1962
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! scope="row"|"Dear Momma"
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|rowspan="9"
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! scope="row"|"I Don't Want No Momma's Boy"
|rowspan="2"| 1963
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! scope="row"|"Abracadabra"
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! scope="row"|"Big Boss Man"
|rowspan="2"| 1967
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! scope="row"|"Piece of My Heart"
| 62
| 10
| 33
| 5
| 10
| 9
| 25
| 9
| 5
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! scope="row"|"Open Up Your Soul"
|rowspan="3"| 1968
| 107
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! scope="row"|"I'm Just Not Ready For Love"
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! scope="row"|"The Right to Cry"
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! scope="row"|"It Could've Been Me"
|rowspan="3"| 1969
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! scope="row"|"Saving My Love For You"
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|rowspan="2"|Soul Sister
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! scope="row"|"Gotta Find Me a Lover (24 Hours a Day)"
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| 40
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| 20
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! scope="row"|"Whispers (Gettin' Louder)"
|1970
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|-
| colspan="12" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
- "(Take a Little) Piece of My Heart" did not chart in the UK until 1992, therefore the peak recorded here occurred on 31st October 1992