Jerry Ragovoy, Cowriter of ‘Piece of My Heart,’ Posthumously Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame

Jerry Ragovoy, a prolific songwriter and producer whose gospel-infused soul compositions shaped some of the most enduring music of the 1960s, is the latest songwriter to be posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Ragovoy, who died in 2011 at age 80, was honored during an intimate ceremony held on Dec. 16 in New York City.

While the annual SHOF gala in June does not usually include posthumous inductions, the organization has hit upon the idea of hosting inductions for writers voted in posthumously at unique venues and events. This is the sixth posthumous induction in less than two years — and the third just this month — following Cindy Walker in May 2024, Prince in July 2024, Bert Berns in September 2025, Hugo & Luigi on Dec. 9 and Donna Summer on Dec. 15.

Ragovoy’s best-known song is probably “Piece of My Heart,” which he cowrote with Bert Berns, who, as noted, was inducted into the SHOF posthumously in September. The song has been a Billboard Hot 100 hit five times, for Erma Franklin, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Sammy Hagar, Shaggy, and Melissa Etheridge and Joss Stone. The song appeared on Big Brother’s album Cheap Thrills, which topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in 1968. In 2005, when Janis Joplin received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, Etheridge and Stone performed a medley of it and “Cry Baby,” another Ragovoy-Berns song that Joplin had recorded, on the Grammy telecast. That live performance reached No. 32 on the Hot 100.

Ragovoy’s emotionally raw songwriting resonated with Joplin, whose recordings of his songs became some of the defining works of her career. Ragovoy cowrote “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder),” which appeared on Joplin’s first solo album, I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! He cowrote three of the 10 songs on Joplin’s second solo album Pearl, which topped the Billboard 200 for nine weeks in 1971. He cowrote “Cry Baby” with Bert Berns and cowrote “My Baby” and “Get It While You Can” with Mort Shuman.

“Cry Baby” was originally recorded by Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters. Their version reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 in October 1963.

Ragovoy wrote “Time Is on My Side,” which Irma Thomas recorded in 1964 and which The Rolling Stones covered that year. Their version became their first top 10 hit on the Hot 100, reaching No. 6 in December 1964.

He cowrote the Afro-pop dance song “Pata Pata” with Miriam Makeba; the song reached No. 12 on the Hot 100 in November 1967 and was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2019.

Some of Ragovoy’s other best-known songs are “Ain’t Nobody Home,” “A Wonderful Dream,” “Stay with Me” and “I’m Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven.”

Ragovoy founded the New York recording studio The Hit Factory in 1969, producing and arranging artists such as Dionne Warwick and Bonnie Raitt before selling it in 1975.

In 2008, Ace Records released a compilation album, The Jerry Ragovoy Story: Time Is on My Side.

Ironically, Ragovoy’s only Grammy Award was as a producer, not a songwriter. In 1973, he won best score from an original cast show album as the producer of Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, which was composed by Micki Grant.