When a Man Loves a Woman ( song ) - wikipedia When a Man Loves a Woman ( song ) For the Jody Watley song, see When a Man Loves a Woman ( Jody Watley song ). `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' Single cover Single by Percy Sledge from the album When a Man Loves a Woman B - side `` Love Me Like You Mean It '' Released March 1966 Format 7 '' vinyl `` 45 '' Recorded February 17, 1966, Norala Studios, Sheffield, Alabama Genre Soul Length 2 : 51 Label Atlantic Songwriter ( s ) Calvin Lewis, Andrew Wright Producer ( s ) Marlin Greene, Quin Ivy Percy Sledge singles chronology `` Warm And Tender Love '' ( 1966 ) `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' ( 1966 ) `` Baby, Help Me '' ( 1967 ) `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' is a song written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright and first recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. Singer and actress Bette Midler recorded the song 14 years later 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. Contents 1 Percy Sledge version 1.1 Background 1.2 Reception 1.3 Authorship 2 Michael Bolton version 2.1 Background 2.2 Chart performance 2.2. 1 Weekly charts 2.2. 2 Year - end charts 3 Other versions 4 References 5 External links Percy Sledge version Background 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. The sidemen for the recording included Spooner Oldham, Farfisa organ ; Marlin Greene, guitar ; Albert `` Junior '' Lowe, double bass and Roger Hawkins, drums. 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. '' Reception Released by Atlantic Records in April 1966, Sledge 's recording reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts, 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. Authorship 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 afterwards 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. '' 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 ''. 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 was n't just what I had done ; it was the musicians, the producer, the background singers, the right time. Michael Bolton version Background `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' was recorded by singer Michael Bolton in 1991 for his album Time, Love & Tenderness. His version of the song reached number one on the U.S. pop and adult contemporary singles charts. 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 which relied on sales and airplay reports before switching over to Soundscan. Also, with the Percy Sledge original having reached number one previously, Bolton 's version made it the seventh song in history to top the Hot 100 as recorded by multiple artists. Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1992 ) Rank U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Year - end charts Chart ( 1991 ) Position Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) 57 Chart ( 1992 ) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100 54 Other versions A version of the song with revised lyrics, `` When a Woman Loves a Man '', was recorded by Esther Phillips in late 1966 and reached number 73 on the Hot 100 and number 26 on the R&B chart. American singer and actress Bette Midler recorded the song in 1979 for the film The Rose. Her version of the single was released in 1980 and reached number 35 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Three separate country music versions have made the Hot Country Songs charts : John Wesley Ryles ( number 72 in 1976 ), Jack Grayson and Blackjack ( number 18 in 1981 ) and Narvel Felts ( number 60 in 1987 ). References ^ Jump up to : Gilliland, John ( 1969 ). `` Show 52 -- The Soul Reformation : Phase three, soul music at the summit. ( Part 8 ) : UNT Digital Library '' ( audio ). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries. Track 3. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). Top R&B / Hip - Hop Singles : 1942 - 2004. Record Research. p. 533. ^ Jump up to : `` When a Man Loves a Woman '', Songfacts.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015 Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). Top R&B / Hip - Hop Singles : 1942 - 2004. Record Research. p. 533. Jump up ^ Vernell Hackett, `` Writers Pen Only One Hit : But... ' When A Man Loves A Woman ' Is A Definite Hit '', American Songwriter, September 1, 1994. Retrieved 14 April 2015 Jump up ^ Randall Roberts, `` Percy Sledge 's ' When a Man Loves a Woman ', a great American ballad '', LA Times, April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015 Jump up ^ `` Billboard Top 100 - 1992 ''. Retrieved 2010 - 07 - 30. Jump up ^ `` RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991 ''. RPM. Retrieved November 23, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Billboard Top 100 - 1992 ''. Retrieved 2010 - 07 - 30. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 1996 ). Top R&B / Hip - Hop Singles : 1942 - 1995. Record Research. p. 348. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2008 ). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 367. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 177 - 2. Jump up ^ Whitburn, p. 168 Jump up ^ Whitburn, p. 143 External links Percy Sledge article on The Standard Report `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' in Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Songs Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Bette Midler Discography Studio albums The Divine Miss M Bette Midler Songs for the New Depression Broken Blossom Thighs and Whispers No Frills Some People 's Lives Bette of Roses Bathhouse Betty Bette Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook Cool Yule It 's the Girls ! Soundtracks The Rose Beaches For the Boys Gypsy Live albums Live at Last Divine Madness Mud Will Be Flung Tonight Compilations The Best of Bette The Best of Bette ( II ) Just Hits Experience the Divine : Greatest Hits ( Jackpot ! ) The Best Bette Memories of You A Gift of Love Video albums Divine Madness The Bette Midler Show Diva Las Vegas The Showgirl Must Go On Singles `` Do You Want to Dance ? '' `` Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy '' `` Friends '' `` In the Mood '' `` Strangers in the Night '' `` Old Cape Cod '' `` Buckets of Rain '' `` Hang On in There Baby '' `` Big Noise from Winnetka '' `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' `` The Rose '' `` Chapel of Love '' `` All I Need to Know '' `` Favorite Waste of Time '' `` Beast of Burden '' `` Under the Boardwalk '' `` Wind Beneath My Wings '' `` From a Distance '' `` Night and Day '' `` In My Life '' `` In This Life '' `` You Do n't Own Me '' `` I 'm Beautiful '' `` White Christmas '' `` Fever '' `` Be My Baby '' Other songs `` We Are the World '' `` I Put a Spell on You '' `` It 's Gonna Take a Miracle '' `` Somewhere Along the Way '' `` Manhattan '' `` The Greatest Ears in Town '' Tours Experience the Divine Diva Las Vegas Kiss My Brass The Showgirl Must Go On Divine Intervention Tour Books The Saga of Baby Divine Book Commons Portal Narvel Felts singles `` Drift Away '' `` Reconsider Me '' `` Lonely Teardrops '' `` I Do n't Hurt Anymore '' `` Runaway '' `` Everlasting Love '' `` Roll Over Beethoven '' `` Smoke Gets in Your Eyes '' `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' Esther Phillips Singles `` Double Crossing Blues '' `` Mistrusting Blues '' `` Release Me '' `` I Really Do n't Want to Know '' `` Am I That Easy to Forget '' `` And I Love Him '' `` When a Woman Loves a Man '' `` Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry '' `` Baby, I 'm for Real '' `` What a Diff'rence a Day Makes '' `` For All We Know '' Related articles Bless Their Little Hearts Book : Esther Phillips Percy Sledge Albums Take Time to Know Her ( 1968 ) Songs `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' `` Love Me Tender '' `` What Am I Living For '' `` True Love Travels on a Gravel Road '' `` Many Rivers to Cross '' Michael Bolton Studio albums Michael Bolotin ( 1975 ) Everyday of My Life ( 1976 ) Michael Bolton ( 1983 ) Everybody 's Crazy ( 1985 ) The Hunger ( 1987 ) Soul Provider ( 1989 ) Time, Love & Tenderness ( 1991 ) Timeless : The Classics ( 1992 ) The One Thing ( 1993 ) This Is the Time : The Christmas Album ( 1996 ) All That Matters ( 1997 ) My Secret Passion ( 1998 ) Timeless : The Classics Vol. 2 ( 1999 ) Only a Woman Like You ( 2002 ) Vintage ( 2003 ) ' Til the End of Forever ( 2005 ) Bolton Swings Sinatra ( 2006 ) One World One Love ( 2009 ) Gems : The Duets Collection / Duette ( 2011 ) Ai n't No Mountain High Enough : A Tribute to Hitsville U.S.A. ( 2013 ) Songs of Cinema ( 2017 ) Cover albums Timeless : The Classics ( 1992 ) This Is The Time : The Christmas Album My Secret Passion : The Arias Timeless : The Classics Vol. 2 Vintage Bolton Swings Sinatra Compilation albums The Artistry of Michael Bolotin ( 1993 ) Greatest Hits ( 1985 -- 1995 ) ( 1995 ) ' Til the End of Forever ( 2005 ) Songs `` How Am I Supposed to Live Without You '' `` How Can We Be Lovers ? '' `` When I 'm Back on My Feet Again '' `` Love Is a Wonderful Thing '' `` Time, Love and Tenderness '' `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' `` Missing You Now '' `` Said I Loved You... But I Lied '' `` I Found Someone '' `` Go the Distance '' `` Jack Sparrow '' `` I 'm Not Ready '' Related articles Discography Blackjack Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=When_a_Man_Loves_a_Woman_(song)&oldid=865230512 '' Categories : 1966 singles 1991 singles Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles Billboard Hot R&B / Hip - Hop Songs number - one singles Billboard Adult Contemporary number - one singles Michael Bolton songs Percy Sledge songs John Wesley Ryles songs Jack Grayson songs Bette Midler songs Pacific Gas & Electric ( band ) songs Rhythm and blues ballads Pop ballads Narvel Felts songs RPM Top Singles number - one singles Atlantic Records singles 1966 songs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Deutsch Español Français Hrvatski Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Português Русский Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 22 October 2018, at 16 : 16 ( UTC ). 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Question: who sang when a man loves a woman first
Answer: Percy Sledge