"When a Man Loves a Woman" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Percy Sledge | ||||
from the album When a Man Loves a Woman | ||||
B-side | "Love Me Like You Mean It" | |||
Released | March 1966 | |||
Recorded | February 17, 1966 | |||
Studio | Norala (Sheffield, Alabama) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:51 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Calvin Lewis, Andrew Wright | |||
Producer(s) | Marlin Greene, Quin Ivy | |||
Percy Sledge singles chronology | ||||
|
"When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright and first recorded by Percy Sledge [1] in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. [3] Country singer John Wesley Ryles had a minor hit with his version of the song in 1976. Singer and actress Bette Midler recorded the song and had a Top 40 hit with her version in 1980. In 1991, Michael Bolton recorded the song and his version peaked at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles chart.
According to Dan Penn, the song was initially recorded by Percy Sledge at Rick Hall's FAME Studios at Muscle Shoals, before being re-recorded at the nearby Norala Studios owned by Quin Ivy. [4] [5] According to Quin Ivy, Percy Sledge was introduced to him by his friend Leroy Wright in Ivy's Tune Town record store. Wright convinced him to audition for Sledge and his band the Esquires. [6] The sidemen for the recording included Spooner Oldham, Farfisa organ; Marlin Greene, guitar; Albert "Junior" Lowe, electric bass and Roger Hawkins, drums. Also on the session were Jack Peck, trumpet, Billy Cofield and Don “Rim” Pollard, tenor sax, and Jerry Eddleman, Jeannie Greene, Sandy Posey, and Hershel Wiggington, backing vocals. [4] Andrew Wright and Calvin Lewis did not play on the record. Rick Hall arranged a distribution deal with Atlantic Records, but Jerry Wexler asked that the song be re-recorded because the horns were out of tune. According to musician David Hood, "They went back in the studio and changed the horns, got different horn players to play on it. But then the tapes got mixed up and Atlantic put out their original version. So that's the hit." [5] [ better source needed ]
Released by Atlantic Records in April 1966, Sledge's recording reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts, [3] becoming the first number 1 hit recorded in Muscle Shoals. It is also one of seven number 1 hits to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 100. The single was also a top ten hit in the UK reaching number four on its initial release and ultimately peaking at number two in 1987 on the UK Singles Chart after it was featured in a Levi's Jeans commercial. The Percy Sledge version is listed 53rd in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Also in 1987, it was reissued in the US to promote the soundtrack album for Oliver Stone's film Platoon .
In 1999, the 1966 recording by Percy Sledge was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [7]
Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright were members of the Esquires, a band in Sheffield, Alabama fronted by singer Percy Sledge. According to Wright, "We were set to play a Friday night dance, and we were practicing ... I was messing around on the organ when this riff came up out of nowhere. There was no one in the club but us. I told Calvin to go home and write some words." The next night, they rehearsed the emerging song with Sledge, changed it around, and soon afterward auditioned the song for local businessman and radio DJ Quin Ivy. He liked the song but suggested that some of the words be changed to give a more positive message. Wright said, "We kept some of the phrases, worked on it for several weeks, and spent quite a bit of time in the studio." [8]
Although the writing of the song is credited to Lewis and Wright, Sledge later said that he should have received a co-writing credit. In one story, Sledge said that one night he was upset over a broken relationship and asked Lewis and Wright to play a slow blues over which he improvised lyrics describing his emotions; Quin Ivy was at the show and asked the band to refine the lyrics so that it could be recorded. Sledge said that he allowed Lewis and Wright to take the writing credits because they gave him the opportunity "to sing his heart out". [5] [ better source needed ]
In another interview, Sledge said:
When I wrote the song at first, it was called "Why Did You Leave Me Baby". And I changed it from that to "When a Man Loves a Woman". I just reversed it. Quin told me that if I was to write some lyrics around that melody and the expression I'd put into "Why Did You Leave Me Baby", he believed it would've been a hit record. He was one of the top disc jockeys at that time. Sure enough, he asked me if I had any lyrics for that. He said, "That's it! Write a story around that title! What a song that would be with that feeling you had!" It was a song that was meant to be. It wasn't just what I had done; it was the musicians, the producer, the background singers, the right time. [9]
|
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [30] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"When a Man Loves a Woman" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Michael Bolton | ||||
from the album Time, Love & Tenderness | ||||
B-side | "Save Me" | |||
Released | October 1991 | |||
Genre | R&B [31] | |||
Length | 3:52 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Calvin Lewis, Andrew Wright | |||
Producer(s) | Walter Afanasieff, Michael Bolton | |||
Michael Bolton singles chronology | ||||
|
"When a Man Loves a Woman" was covered by singer Michael Bolton for his seventh studio album, Time, Love & Tenderness (1991). His version of the song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, becoming Bolton's second US number-one hit. Bolton also received a Grammy Award for this song. This version has the distinction of being the last number-one song to chart on the old Billboard Hot 100 charting system that relied on sales and airplay reports before switching over to Nielsen SoundScan. With the Percy Sledge original having reached number one previously, Bolton's version made it the seventh song to top the Hot 100 as recorded by multiple artists.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | October 1991 |
| Columbia | |
United Kingdom | October 28, 1991 |
| [52] | |
Japan | November 1, 1991 | Mini-CD | Sony | [53] |
American country singer John Wesley Ryles covered the song for his 1977 self-titled studio album, which also included a cover of "Tell It Like It Is". Ryles's version was a minor hit, reaching Number 72 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. [54]
In 1979, American actress and singer Bette Midler covered the song for the soundtrack of The Rose , which tells a fictionalized version of Janis Joplin's life story. Midler's version was released as a single the following year and peaked at Number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. [55]
Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes released a version of "When a Man Loves a Woman" as the lead single from his 1988 live album Barnestorming . Barnes' version peaked at number 3 on the ARIA Charts and number 11 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart's top singles list. [56]
Canadian singer Luba covered the song in for her 1987 album Over 60 Minutes with Luba . Luba's version peaked at number 6 on the RPM top singles chart and number 3 on the adult contemporary chart. [57] [58]
English singer Joe Cocker covered the song for the 1989 live album Soul Session Live , by "James Brown & Friends". Though not released as a single, Cocker's rendition was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1990. [59]
Michael Bolotin, known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo albums and those he recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack. His early career also saw him as a successful songwriter, co-writing hits like "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" for Laura Branigan, which he later recorded as a solo single.
Percy Tyrone Sledge was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song "When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 1966. It was awarded a million-selling, Gold-certified disc from the RIAA.
"I'll Be There" is the first single released from Third Album by The Jackson 5. It was written by Berry Gordy, Hal Davis, Bob West, and Willie Hutch.
"All the Man That I Need" is a song written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The song was first recorded as "All the Man I Need" by Linda Clifford for her album I'll Keep on Loving You (1982). In 1990, American singer Whitney Houston had a number-one multiple chart hit with this song, recorded as "All the Man That I Need", from her third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990).
"Wonderful World" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. Released on April 14, 1960, by Keen Records, it had been recorded during an impromptu session the previous year in March 1959, at Sam Cooke's last recording session at Keen. He signed with RCA Victor in 1960 and "Wonderful World", then unreleased, was issued as a single in competition. The song was mainly composed by songwriting team Lou Adler and Herb Alpert, but Cooke revised the lyrics to mention the subject of education more.
"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" is a song written by Stax Records songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, and Raymond Jackson. Originally written for The Emotions, it has been performed by many singers, most notably by Luther Ingram, whose original recording topped the R&B chart for four weeks and rose to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. Billboard ranked it as the No. 16 song for 1972.
"Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film as an instrumental theme by Steiner. Originally known as the "Molly and Johnny Theme", this lush extended cue, as orchestrated by Murray Cutter, is not the main title theme of the film, but an oft-heard secondary love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue. A subsequent recording by Hugo Winterhalter was the first to use the "Theme from A Summer Place" title. The theme has become a canonical representation of the easy listening genre, and is considered by some to be the definitive easy listening track of all time.
"You Send Me" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer Sam Cooke, released as a single in 1957 by Keen Records. Produced by Bumps Blackwell and arranged and conducted by René Hall. The song, Cooke's debut single, was a massive commercial success, becoming a No. 1 hit on both Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Records chart and the Billboard Hot 100.
"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song co-written in 1982 by Doug James and Michael Bolton. The track was originally recorded by Laura Branigan in 1983, charting at number one in both the US and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. Bolton later recorded his own version of the song that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a worldwide hit.
"The Power of Love" is a pop song co-written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Jennifer Rush in 1984. It was released in December 1984 by CBS Records as the fifth single from her debut album, Jennifer Rush (1984), and has since been covered by Air Supply, Laura Branigan, and Celine Dion.
"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966, in a New York City studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its title is a word play on the 1963 comedy film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
"Tell It Like It Is" is a song written by George Davis and Lee Diamond and originally recorded and released in 1966 by Aaron Neville. In 2010, the song was ranked No. 391 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" is a song by American rock band Heart. It was composed by veteran songwriter and producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and released as the lead single from the band's tenth studio album, Brigade, in March 1990. The song was first recorded as "All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You" by Dobie Gray in 1979, though with different lyrics. The Heart version tells the story of a woman who sets out to seduce a hitchhiker in order to become pregnant because although there is a man in her life, he is infertile.
"That's What Love Is For" is a song by Christian music/pop music-crossover singer Amy Grant. It was written by three-time Grammy-Award winner Michael Omartian, Mark Mueller and Amy Grant and produced by Omartian. It was the third Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 pop single from her 5× platinum-selling album Heart in Motion and the only one from the album to be released to both Pop and Christian radio.
"To Love Somebody" is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Produced by Robert Stigwood, it was the second single released by the Bee Gees from their international debut album, Bee Gees 1st, in 1967. The single reached No. 17 in the United States and No. 41 in the United Kingdom. The song's B-side was "Close Another Door". The single was reissued in 1980 on RSO Records with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" as its flipside. The song ranked at number 94 on NME magazine's "100 Best Tracks of the Sixties". The entry was a minor hit in France but reached the top 10 in Canada.
"Any Day Now" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard in 1962. It has been recorded by numerous artists over the years, including notable versions by Chuck Jackson in 1962, Alan Price in 1965, Elvis Presley in 1969, Scott Walker in 1973 and Ronnie Milsap in 1982. In the lyrics, the singer predicts the imminent demise of a romantic relationship and describes the sadness this will leave.
"Said I Loved You... But I Lied" is a song by American pop music singer Michael Bolton. The song was co-written and co-produced by Bolton and Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Released in October 1993 by Columbia Records as the first single from his ninth album, The One Thing (1993), the single topped the American and Canadian adult contemporary charts, reached the top 10 in the United States and in three other countries, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Time, Love and Tenderness" is a song written by Diane Warren and performed by American recording artist Michael Bolton. Released by Columbia as a single from his seventh album of the same title (1991), the song reached number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Bolton's fifth top-ten single in the United States. It was also the singer's fourth song to top the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. Worldwide the song reached number four in Canada, number 27 in Sweden and number 28 in the United Kingdom.
"Love Is a Wonderful Thing" is a song by American pop music singer Michael Bolton, written by Bolton and Andrew Goldmark and produced by Walter Afanasieff. The song, which peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, was included on Bolton's seventh album, Time, Love & Tenderness (1991), and released in April 1991 by Columbia. It was also successful in Canada, becoming Bolton's third number-two hit, and in Norway, where it reached number seven. The accompanying music video for "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" was directed by Dominic Sena and shot in Phoenix, Arizona.
"The Greatest Love of All" is a song written by Michael Masser, who composed the music, and Linda Creed, who wrote the lyrics. It was originally recorded in 1977 by George Benson, who made the song a substantial hit, peaking at number two on the US Hot Soul Singles chart that year, the first R&B chart top-ten hit for Arista Records. The song was written and recorded to be the main theme of the 1977 film The Greatest, a biopic of the boxer Muhammad Ali, and is performed during the opening credits.
"When A Man Loves A Woman" was something else: A hard and raspy and passionate Southern soul song...