Erma Vernice Franklin (March 13, 1938 – September 7, 2002) was an American Gospel and R&B singer.

Franklin was the elder sister of American singer/musician Aretha Franklin. Franklin's best known recording was the original version of "Piece of My Heart", written and produced by Bert Berns, and recorded 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 the lead vocal by Janis Joplin.

Biography

Erma Franklin was born in Shelby, Mississippi, 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 ten 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 four years later on March 7, 1952, in Buffalo, New York. Franklin studied Business at Clark Atlanta University (then known as Clark College).

During her childhood Erma and her sisters Aretha and Carolyn sang at New Bethel Baptist Church. Later, when Aretha became a recording artist, Erma provided backing vocals and toured with her. Among her most notable back-up performances for her sister was on Aretha's signature tune, "Respect".

Erma Franklin sang the original version of "Piece of My Heart", which was a top ten R&B hit in the US and rose to number sixty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the UK, Franklin's version was used in a Levi's jeans commercial ("Cinderella" AKA "Night and Day"), leading to a resurgence of interest in the song. The single was re-released in the UK in 1992 and peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number nine.

Franklin told an interviewer that when she first heard Janis Joplin's version on the radio, she didn't recognize it because of the vocal arrangement.

Erma's solo recording career was hampered by misfortune and by contracts with record labels that did not find the most suitable material for her husky voice.[citation needed] In the mid-1970s Erma left the music industry, apart from occasional engagements with Aretha. 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.

Franklin married Thomas Garrett in 1952 and later gave birth to their two children, Thomas Garrett Jr. (1954–2011) and Sabrina Garrett (b. 1958). For 25 years, Erma worked for the Boysville Holy Cross Community Center, a Detroit organization that helps homeless and disadvantaged minority children. Franklin died of throat cancer in Detroit, Michigan on September 7, 2002 at age 64. 

She is interred at Detroit's historic Woodlawn Cemetery.

Discography

source:

• 1962, Her Name Is Erma, Epic Records
• 1969, Soul Sister, Brunswick Records
• 2015, The Electric Flag Featuring Erma Franklin – Live 1968, (with The Electric Flag), RockBeat Records

• "Piece of My Heart" – UK # 9
• "Gotta Find Me a Lover (24 Hours a Day)"