In 2006 Knight starred in BBC1 music TV show, Just The Two Of Us, and is the host of the Radio 2 show Beverley's Gospel Nights, which explores the origins and impact of gospel music. Now in its second season, the show has featured interviews with stars such as Destiny's Child and Shirley Caesar.
Knight is an ambassador for many charities such Christian Aid and has travelled to areas affected by disease and poverty to help raise awareness. She is an active campaigner for anti-Aids organisations such as the Stop AIDS Campaign and The Terrence Higgins Trust and is also a vocal campaigner against homophobic lyrics in urban music. She became an MBE in 2006, the only musician to be granted such an honour in the Queen's eightieth birthday honours list.
In February 2006 Knight consolidated her move into the mainstream audience by appearing on BBC1 music show, Just The Two of Us. The show, featuring celebrities who duet with established singers, ran for two weeks and proved to be a relative disappointment in terms of audience figures – averaging between fifteen and twenty-five percent audience shares.[17] Nevertheless it provided a platform for Knight to reach out to a bigger audience and demonstrate her talent by performing a different array of songs than she would otherwise be known for. Reaching out to new audiences was also a driving force behind Knight’s decision to join Take That on their reunion arena tour. Take That - The Ultimate Tour 06, which ran from April to July 2006, sold 270,000 tickets in less than four hours on sale at the box office and featured Knight as a support act.
In March 2006 Beverley released her fifth album, a compilation set featuring the majority of her top forty UK singles entitled Voice - The Best Of Beverley Knight. The album, which was certified Gold less than a month after its release,[19] became her second highest charting of her career when it entered the UK albums chart at number ten and rose to number nine a month later. It was preceded by the single "Piece of my Heart" – a cover of the Erma Franklin classic made famous by Janis Joplin and entered the singles chart at number sixteen, spending eleven weeks inside the UK top 75 singles chart and becoming her longest-running chart single to date.
In October 2006, Knight recorded her fifth studio album, Music City Soul, in Nashville. Completed in less than five days, the album was released on 7 May 2007 and features collaborations with musicians such as Ronnie Wood and Scotty Moore. It has spawned three singles thus far, "No Man's Land", released on 16 April 2007, "After You", released on 2 July 2007 and "The Queen of Starting Over", released on 15 October 2007.
Beverley will be releasing her next album in spring 2009.
Sites: YouTube
Piece Of My Heart
Beverley Knight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Didn't I make you feel like you were the only man!
Love, didn't I give you everything that a woman possibly can?
Each time I tell myself well I think I've had enough,
But I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.
I want you to come on, come on, come on, come on
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby!
Oh, oh, break it!
Break another little piece of my heart now, baby yeah.
Oh, oh, have a!
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it if it makes you feel good,
Oh, yes you do.
You're out on the streets looking good,
Baby deep down in your heart well you know it ain't right,
You never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever hear me, ever hear me when I cry,
Babe, I cry all the time!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I can't stand the pain,
But when you hold me in your arms, I'll sing it once again.
I'll say come on, come on, come on, come on and take it!
Take it!
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby.
Oh, oh, break it!
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah,
Oh, oh, have a!
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it, if it makes you feel good.
I need you to come on, come on, come on, come on,
Take it!
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby!
oh, oh, break it!
Break another little piece of my heart, now baby why don't you
oh, oh, have a
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby.
You know you got it woah!
Take it!
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby,
Oh, oh, break it!
Break another little bit of my heart, now baby baby baby
Oh, oh, have a
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it, if it makes you feel good.
The lyrics to Beverley Knight's "Piece of My Heart" are about a woman's experience in a relationship where she has given everything to her partner, but he continues to take her for granted. The song's repeated refrain "come on, come on, come on, come on" is a call to the partner to take more from her, whether that be her love or her heart. She questions if she has not done enough for him to feel loved, asking "didn't I make you feel like you were the only man?" and asserts that she has given him everything she possibly could. Despite this, he continues to hurt her, and she cries all the time, but still finds herself going back to him. The song's final lines "you know you got it, if it makes you feel good" suggest that the partner's pleasure comes at the expense of the woman and her emotional pain.
The song was originally written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns and was first recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967, with Janis Joplin's version becoming the most well-known. Beverley Knight's rendition is a soulful remake with powerful vocals that convey the emotion of the lyrics. The song has resonated with listeners around the world, particularly women, who can relate to the experience of giving everything to someone who doesn't appreciate it. In addition, the song has been used in several films and television shows, including Goodfellas and Grey's Anatomy.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, come on, come on, come on, come on!
Encouraging the person to take another piece of her heart
Didn't I make you feel like you were the only man!
Asking the person if she didn't give him all the attention possible
Love, didn't I give you everything that a woman possibly can?
Asking if she didn't give him everything possible in a relationship
Each time I tell myself well I think I've had enough,
Reflecting on how she sometimes feels like giving up on this relationship
But I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.
Determined that she will not let this relationship break her down
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby!
Asking the person to take a piece of her heart
Oh, oh, break it!
Asking the person to break her heart a little bit more
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
Offering another piece of her heart to the person
You know you got it if it makes you feel good,
If the person likes having a piece of her heart, he can take it
Baby deep down in your heart well you know it ain't right,
Telling the person that she knows the relationship isn't healthy
You never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever hear me, ever hear me when I cry,
Expressing that the person doesn't listen to her when she's upset
Babe, I cry all the time!
Stating that she is upset most of the time
And each time I tell myself that I, well I can't stand the pain,
Reflecting on how the pain of the relationship is too much to handle
But when you hold me in your arms, I'll sing it once again.
Despite the pain, she still craves the person's affection
Take it!
Asking the person to take another piece of her heart
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah,
Asking the person to break her heart a little bit more
You know you got it woah!
The person now has a piece of her heart
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bert Berns, Jerry Ragavoy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind