THE Northern Echo, September 12, featured a review of the performance by Middlebrough’s Amelia Lily of Beverley Knight’s Little Piece of my Heart on XFactor.

This song was first sung by possibly the greatest white urban blues and soul singer of the Sixties, Janis Joplin.

Janis was born on January 19, 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas, and at 17 sang folk music in coffee houses before moving to California in 1966 where she completed the line up of Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Their careers took off after a performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 and they signed for Columbia Records. The album, Cheap Thrills was released in 1968 and Piece of my Heart, their first Columbia single, went to number 12.

Janis died of a heroin overdose in Hollywood’s Landmark Motel on October 4, 1970 while recording her last album called Pearl. A song from that album, Me and Bobby McGee, was her only number one record.

As Amelia embarks on her career let’s hope that amazing voice will be heard for a long time, unlike Janis who crashed and burned along with Hendrix and Morrison and a decade that made them famous.

There must be something in the air in Middlesbrough which produces such good singers, Paul Rodgers, Chris Rea and now Amelia Lily.

Stephen Harrison, Cleasby, North Yorkshire.