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Erma Franklin
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Erma Franklin was born in 1938 in Shelby, Mississippi, the eldest daughter of the Reverend C. L. Franklin. She grew up in Detroit, where her father was pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church. There she sang as a child with her sisters Aretha and Carolyn. When Aretha began making records, Erma went on tour with her as a backing singer. She sings along on Respect, her sister's best-known song. She also studied business administration at Clark College in Atlanta.
Music and breakthrough
In 1967 Erma Franklin was the first to record Piece of My Heart, written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, who also produced it. It became a soul hit in the United States and earned her a Grammy nomination. A year later Janis Joplin recorded the song with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Erma later said that at first she did not recognise Joplin's version on the radio. In 1992 her own version became a hit again in England, after it was used in a jeans advertisement.
Influence
As a solo singer she never had the success of Aretha, partly because her record company found few suitable songs for her. In the mid-1970s she gave up music. She then worked for 25 years for an organisation in Detroit that helped homeless and disadvantaged children. Erma Franklin died in 2002.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1962Her Name Is Erma
- 1969Soul Sister
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 10: Women in Pop MusicNL Reader