I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
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"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | ||||
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Single by Aretha Franklin | ||||
from the album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You | ||||
B-side | "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" | |||
Released | February 10, 1967 | |||
Recorded | January 24, 1967[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:51 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ronnie Shannon | |||
Producer(s) | Jerry Wexler | |||
Aretha Franklin singles chronology | ||||
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Official music audio | ||||
"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" on YouTube |
"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" is a 1967 single released by American
Background and recording
Aretha Franklin had made nine albums while under contract to
The first song they worked on was one that Franklin had brought with her, written by Ronnie Shannon.[6] A previously unreleased demo version of the song was included as the opening track on the 2007 album Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul.[7][8]
After signing Franklin, Wexler requested her to record a blues song. Franklin later says of her Atlantic tenure that "they just told me to sit on the piano and sing". From the very first chord that Aretha played on the piano, it was clear to everyone that it was a magic moment. It was at that point that Spooner Oldham, who had been hired to play piano, stepped aside to play the electric piano.[6] Within minutes of Franklin's recording, Wexler knew he had a hit.
The FAME session was later disrupted by a fight between Ted White and trumpeter Ken Laxton,
Reception
Billboard described "I Never Loved a Man" as "a powerful blues wailer that will create much excitement in
both pop and r&b markets."
Personnel
Musicians
- Source (album credits):[14]
- Aretha Franklin – piano, vocals
- Spooner Oldham – keyboards, piano
- Jimmy Johnson, Chips Moman – guitar
- Tommy Cogbill – bass guitar
- Gene Chrisman, Roger Hawkins– drums
- Melvin Lastie – trumpet
- Charles Chalmers, King Curtis – tenor saxophone
- Willie Bridges – baritone saxophone
- Carolyn Franklin – background vocals
- Erma Franklin – background vocals
- Cissy Houston – background vocals
Technical
- Produced by Rick Hall (FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL)
- Tom Dowd – arranger, recording engineer
- Arif Mardin – recording engineer
Legacy
The creation of the song is related in the 2005 BBC Two documentary series Soul Deep, including interviews with the original personnel including Franklin, Shannon (demonstrating the central riff on electric piano), and Wexler.[15][16][17]
Swedish pop group
There are a number of renditions of this song on YouTube including Franklin performing it on the Lady Soul special from 1968. A live recording featured on the album "Aretha in Paris" (1968).[citation needed]
The song was sung by Maria Doyle in the 1991 Alan Parker film The Commitments, and appeared on the film's soundtrack album.[18] It also featured in the 1995 movie Major Payne, and the 2007 movie This Christmas, starring Loretta Devine [19]
Garth Brooks recorded the song for the 2013 "Blue-Eyed Soul" album in the Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences compilation.
Chart positions
Charts | Peak position |
---|---|
R&B Singles Chart | 1 |
Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
See also
Notes
- ^ Dobkin 2006, p. 133.
- ^ Masley, Ed (May 30, 2017). "Sgt. Pepper and beyond: A look back at 20 great albums released in 1967". azcentral. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
...that no-good heartbreaker she'd leave if she could on the gospel-flavored title track.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 215.
- ISBN 0-312-31828-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-06-096049-3.
- ^ "Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul – Aretha Franklin | Release Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Aretha Franklin – I never loved a man (the way i loved you)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ISBN 9781604734010.
- ^ "The making of Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)"". uncut.co.uk. 17 August 2018.
- ^ Dobkin, Matt (2004). I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You: Aretha Franklin, Respect, and the Making of a Soul Music Masterpiece. New York: St. Martin's Press, pp160-161
- ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. February 25, 1967. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com.
- ^ "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You – credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- ^ "Soul Deep – Episode Guide: Episode 2". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Soul Deep – The Story Of Black Popular Music, Southern Soul – Ep 4/6" (PDF). bbc.co.uk. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "BBC – Press Office – Soul Deep episode four". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ISBN 978-1442269873. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ^ This Christmas (2007) – IMDb, retrieved 2020-03-07
Sources
- Dobkin, Matt (Jan 24, 2006). I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-31231-829-1.