Two of the greatest soul songs in history are “When a Man Loves a Woman,” and “It’s a Man’s World.” Percy Sledge first recorded “When a Man Loves a Woman” in 1966, which was written by Andrew Wright and Calvin Lewis. The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts. Then in 1980, Bette Midler recorded her version, and it became a top 40 hit. Finally, in 1991, Michaela Bolton recorded the song, and his cover would reach number one on both the Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song came about when Wright and Lewis were along in a club one night. Wright said he was just “messing around on the organ” when suddenly the song’s main riff came to him out of nowhere. He then told Calvin to go home and write the words. After a bit of refining, they had their song.
“It’s a Man’s World” was written by Betty Jean Newsome and James Brown, and recorded by Brown in 1966. It would go on to reach number one on the Billboard R&B chart and Number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. Its title was actually a wordplay on the classic 1963 comedy movie “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Later Newsome would claim that Brown played no role in writing and that the lyrics reflected her observations concerning the relations between men and women. The dispute went to court with Brown eventually relating another version called “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” which would go on to become a staple at his live shows.
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In this video, we see Canadian composer David Foster on the piano as Micheal Bolton and Seal perform a medley combining “When A Man Loves A Woman,” and “It’s a Man’s World.”
You can enjoy this remarkable collaboration in the video below.
