"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" is a 1967 single released by American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

singer

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

. Released on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

, as the first big hit of her career, it became a defining song for Franklin, peaking at number one on the

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

charts and number nine on the

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

charts. The B-side was "

Do Right Woman, Do Right Man "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" (also written "Do Right Woman — Do Right Man") is a song written by Chips Moman and Dan Penn, and made famous by Aretha Franklin. Her version was released on February 10, 1967. ''Rolling Stone'' listed it as number ...

". Before this Franklin had placed only two Top 40 singles on the pop chart during her modest tenure with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

Background and recording

Aretha Franklin had made nine albums while under contract to

but had remained commercially unsuccessful. When Columbia Records let Franklin's contract lapse in 1966,

producer

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

quickly signed her, taking her in January 1967 to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, along with recording engineer

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recording ...

and Franklin's then-husband Ted White. Wexler had arranged for

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums li ...

and Tommy Cogbill from Stax to join the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section at Rick Hall's

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording locations of the ...

. Musicians on the record included Ken Laxton on trumpet,

King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician ...

and Charles Chalmers on tenor saxophone, Willie Bridges on baritone saxophone, Spooner Oldham on Wurlitzer electronic piano, Chips Moman and Jimmy Johnson on guitar, Tommy Cogbill on bass guitar, and Roger Hawkins on drums. The first song they worked on was one that Franklin had brought with her, written by Ronnie Shannon. 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''. After signing Franklin, Wexler requested her to record a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

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. 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, leaving the B-side, "

" unfinished. Wexler recorded more songs with Franklin in Atlantic's

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

studio, with some members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section flown in to complete "Do Right Woman" and a number of other tracks (including "

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

"). There was a slight discrepancy in the tape recording speed of the Muscle Shoals FAME studio and the Atlantic's New York studio recorders. The foundation track of "Do Right Woman" recorded at Muscle Shoals and the subsequent tracks added at Atlantic's New York studio are very slightly out of tune with each other.

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' described "I Never Loved a Man" as "a powerful blues wailer that will create much excitement in both pop and r&b markets." It rose to #9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became Franklin's first #1 hit on the R&B charts. It was also the title of Franklin's first Atlantic LP. Franklin would soon become a superstar after the release of this song. The song has since been called a pivotal moment in

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

. It ranked #189 on

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

's list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine '' Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 i ...

Personnel

Musicians

:Source (album credits): * Aretha Franklin – piano, vocals * Spooner Oldham – keyboards, piano * Jimmy Johnson,

– guitar * Tommy Cogbill – bass guitar * Gene Chrisman, Roger Hawkins – drums *

Melvin Lastie Melvin Clarke Lastie, Sr. (November 18, 1930 – December 4, 1972) was an American R&B trumpeter, flugelhornist, and cornetist. He also played jazz and was a session musician on many soul and rock records of the 1960s. Lastie was born in New O ...

– trumpet * Charles Chalmers,

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Willie Bridges –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrab ...

* Carolyn Franklin – background vocals * Erma Franklin – background vocals *

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

– background vocals

Technical

* Produced by Rick Hall (FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL) *

– arranger, recording engineer * Arif Mardin – recording engineer

Legacy

The creation of the song is related in the 2005

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

documentary series ''Soul Deep'', including interviews with the original personnel including Franklin, Shannon (demonstrating the central riff on electric piano), and Wexler. Swedish pop group

Roxette Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second ...

included the song in their

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

show, in 1993. The song was later covered by

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...

as "Never Loved a Girl" on 2004's '' Honkin' on Bobo'' a collection of old

and R&B songs. The song has also been performed on

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

by contestants Sabrina Sloan in season 6 and Alexis Grace in season 8. Both performances received much acclaim. Grammy Award winners

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of '' American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her de ...

Spencer Wiggins Spencer Wiggins (born January 8, 1942) is an American soul and gospel singer. He is an exponent of so-called "deep soul" and is considered one of the best kept secrets of soul music. Life Wiggins was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he grew ...

and Jennifer Hudson have also covered the song. There are a number of renditions of this song on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

including Franklin performing it on the ''Lady Soul'' special from 1968. A live recording featured on the album " Aretha in Paris" (1968). The song was sung by Maria Doyle in the 1991 Alan Parker film '' The Commitments'', and appeared on the film's soundtrack album. It also featured in the 1995 movie '' Major Payne'', and the 2007 movie '' This Christmas'', starring Loretta Devine

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

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

Notes

Sources

* {{authority control 1967 singles Aretha Franklin songs Aerosmith songs Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler Songs written by Ronnie Shannon 1967 songs Atlantic Records singles