“Piece of My Heart” by Janis Joplin

"Piece of My Heart" belonged to Erma Franklin first, a soul single written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns in 1967, but the version rock radio can't let go of is the one Big Brother and the Holding Company cut in 1968 for Cheap Thrills, with Janis Joplin out front. It became a far bigger hit than the original, big enough that Franklin's version picked up a Grammy nomination in its wake.

Joplin doesn't so much sing the song as tear it open: a raw, ragged howl over the band's lurching, overdriven guitars. The honors kept piling up long after: the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, a spot at 353 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs list in 2004, and a place among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.