Erma Franklin
b. 1943, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The younger sister of Aretha Franklin, this excellent singer's career has been overshadowed by that of her illustrious sibling. Erma's most celebrated moment came in 1967 with Piece Of My Heart, an intense uptown soul ballad co-written and produced by Bert Berns. The song was adopted by Janis Joplin, but Franklin's own progress faltered with the collapse of her record label. Although she did secure a minor 1969 hit with Gotta Find Me A Lover (24 Hours A Day), her later work failed to match that early promise. During the past two decades much of her time has been spent running Boysville, a child care charity in Detroit. In 1992 Levi's chose Piece Of My Heart for one of their television advertisements, and in predictible fashion it scaled the charts and gave Aretha's often overlooked sister her true moment of (belated) glory.