PCS Blog
Jerry Ragovoy: Joplin’s Musical Master
Posted by Kinsley Suer | 10 June 2011 | Comments (3)
The finale of One Night with Janis Joplin concludes with a riveting, magnetic performance of “I’m Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven.” The song doesn’t sound familiar to you? You’re not alone. Written by Jerry Ragovoy and Jenny Dean, with input and notes from Janis, the song is receiving its own premiere in One Night with Janis Joplin.
Recently, we were honored to welcome Jerry Ragovoy to Portland for the opening night performance of One Night with Janis Joplin. Ragovoy had this to say about the production:
Below, Ragovoy poses with Cat Stephani (Janis in One Night with Janis Joplin) and Len Rhodes, the show’s Musical Director and Arranger.“The book, the arrangements, the performances, and the entire Portland-based band were all terrific. In addition to my songs associated with Janis, there was the added bonus of “I’m Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven.” It was exciting for me to be there and hear it performed. One Night with Janis Joplin is enjoyable from beginning to end."
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Born in Philadelphia in 1935, Ragovoy fell into his music career seemingly by accident. Like Janis Joplin, he found himself fascinated from a young age by gospel and rhythm & blues music. While still a teenager, he took a job at Tregoobs, an appliance store that also had a record department. Hanging out outside Tregoobs one day in 1953, he heard a group of kids singing and liked what he heard. He invited them to come inside and sing their song for Herb Slotkin, the store's manager. Slotkin liked it too, so Ragovoy suggested they start a label together to record it. That one song, "My Girl Awaits Me" by The Castelles, sold over 100,000 copies. His career was born. Eventually, Ragovoy moved on to work Chancellor Records. By 1961, he had struck out on his own.
His song “Cry Baby,” cowritten with Bert Berns for Garnet Mimms, was released in 1963 and went on to become a relatively popular hit. He also wrote “Time Is on My Side.” Although it was originally written for jazz trombonist Kai Winding, a more rock-oriented version was soon recorded by The Rolling Stones, and was their first U.S. Top Ten hit.
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Janis Joplin seems to have had a particular affinity for Ragovoy-penned tunes, as she covered five of his songs throughout her short career. Ragovoy teamed up again with frequent coauthor Bert Berns to write what would become one of her greatest hits, “Piece of My Heart.” However, like many of his other tunes, “Piece of My Heart” was originally written for another performer, in this case Erma Franklin (yes, Aretha’s older sister!).
By the late 1960s, Ragovoy’s songs, sung by Janis Joplin, were reaching a whole new level of success. Her renditions of “Piece of My Heart” and “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder),” the latter of which Ragovoy co-wrote with Chip Taylor, made him more money than the originals had. Chip Taylor is also the songwriter of "Wild Thing," made famous by Jimi Hendrix.
Three of Ragovoy’s songs – “Cry Baby,” “My Baby” and "Get It While You Can" (originally recorded by Howard Tate) – appeared on Janis’ posthumously released album Pearl. Both “My Baby” and “Get It While You Can” were songwriting collaborations with Mort Shuman, whose “Viva Las Vegas” was made famous by Elvis Presley. Ragavoy had also written a fourth with Janis in mind, titled “I’m Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven.” Although he had completed it in the summer of 1970, Janis passed away before having the opportunity to record it.
A few years ago, NPR aired a piece appraising the life and work of the legendary songwriter and record producer. Click here to hear the NPR piece in its entirety.
Comments (3)
Hi Kinsley,
Thank you so much for your quick, thorough and very useful reply to my comments! Those are very good references and much appreciated.
Thanks again and best wishes in all your future endeavors,
Claudia
Hi Claudia,
We’re saddened to hear about Mr. Ragovoy’s passing. It was a real treat to welcome him here to Portland for the opening night performance of One Night with Janis Joplin.
No tour dates have been announced yet for One Night with Janis Joplin, but the production is in the hands of Janis Joplin’s Estate, run by Jampol Artist Management. Any information about future tour dates or a cast recording can be found on their website (http://wemanagelegends.com) or on Janis Joplin’s official site (http://www.officialjanis.com).
Thanks so much for your interest!
- Kinsley Suer, PCS
I just recently learned about the great composer J. Ragovoy, due to his passing on last week (via the New York Times’ obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/16/arts/music/jerry-ragovoy-songwriter-and-producer-is-dead-at-80.html)
Having been a fan of Janis Joplin since the beginning, it was quite an eye opener to learn about him and about the song “I’m gonna rock my way to heaven”. So, to find out that he was able to attend the opening night of this musical performance is really good news.
As I’m nowhere near Portland, plus I noticed that the performances have ended, I’d like to ask two questions: Are you planning to bring this musical to Toronto, Canada? And, (especially if you’re not planning to have a tour of the performance) do you have CD’s or a recording that I could buy of this last song he wrote for Janis? I’d really love to hear it.
Thanks in advance and congratulations on your blog!
Claudia
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