Sister trying to do it for herself

Erma Franklin is known for two things: being Aretha's sister and recording the original version of "Piece of My Heart." While she wasn't quite as good a singer as her sister - shit, who is? - she might have been better known if the chips had fallen her way. She almost signed with Berry Gordy and some new label he just started called Motown but her father told her she had to finish school first - and you don't disobey the Rev. C.L. Franklin - so she missed out there. After an unsuccessful stint at Epic Records she signed with Bert Berns' Shout label where she recorded "Piece of My Heart" which was written by Berns and Jerry Ragavoy. This became her biggest hit in 1967 (though Janis Joplin's version is unfortunately better known now) and Berns planned to record an album with her to capitalize on the success but he unexpectedly died before this happened which threw Erma's career and the label into turmoil. This was around the time her sister became a superstar and if I was Erma I'd wonder why God hated me so much. She recorded two more singles for Shout, the last of which was this Carole King/Gerry Goffin ballad "The Right To Cry" released in 1968. This is a very emotional song and Erma really throws herself into it with everything she's got almost as if she thought this might be her last record.

It might have been her last record if she hadn't signed with Brunswick the following year. But apart from a minor hit with "Gotta Find Me a Lover (24 Hours a Day)" the label didn't handle her very well and when they nixed the idea of Aretha producing an album for her she pretty much gave up on them and that was it for her recording career. Sadly she died of cancer in 2002. For a more detailed biography visit this site. Her Shout recordings are her best work and those are collected on Golden Classics, her only Brunswick album "Soul Sister" is available in an expanded version called Super Soul Sister.

[Download]
The Right To Cry - Erma Franklin