Which singer performed "Piece of My Heart" at Woodstock?

Janis Joplin performed “Piece of My Heart” at Woodstock.

Joplin appeared at the festival with the Kozmic Blues Band during the early hours of Monday, August 18, 1969. Her raw, forceful vocal style made the performance one of the most anticipated moments of the event. Although she had already become famous through earlier appearances with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Woodstock presented her as a solo-era performer.

“Piece of My Heart” was originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967 and written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns. Joplin's 1968 recording with Big Brother and the Holding Company, released on Cheap Thrills, became the version most closely associated with her. That history creates a common mix-up: Franklin originated the song, but Joplin was the singer who performed it at Woodstock.

The 1994 director's cut of the Woodstock film added Joplin's performance, which was absent from the original 1970 theatrical release. Her Woodstock set also included songs such as “Try,” “To Love Somebody,” and “Ball and Chain.”