“When a Man Loves a Woman” was written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, and first recorded and made famous by soul singer Percy Sledge in 1966.

Songwriters

  • The song’s official credited writers are Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, who were members of Sledge’s backing band in Alabama.
  • They developed the music and lyrics together, and their names appear on the song’s publishing and copyright records.

Percy Sledge’s role

  • Percy Sledge created the iconic vocal performance that turned the song into a classic, taking it to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts in 1966.
  • In later interviews, Sledge sometimes described having early lyrical ideas under another title, but the official writing credit remained with Lewis and Wright.

Quick Scoop

  • Official writers: Calvin Lewis & Andrew Wright.
  • First major recording: Percy Sledge, 1966, Norala Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama.
  • Legacy: Frequently cited as one of the great American soul ballads of the 1960s and still widely covered and licensed today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.