Michael Bolton – When a Man Loves a Woman

He Thanked Everyone At The Grammys Except Percy Sledge

Released in 1991, Michael Bolton’s cover of “When A Man Loves A Woman” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, becoming his second number one hit and earning him a Grammy Award. But when Bolton accepted that Grammy, he thanked everyone from the podium except Percy Sledge, who’d made the song a soul classic 25 years earlier. He later apologized for the omission, but the damage was done. The cover also holds an odd distinction: it was the last number one to chart under the old Billboard system before Nielsen SoundScan changed everything. With both Sledge’s original and Bolton’s version reaching number one, it became only the seventh song to top the Hot 100 as recorded by multiple artists.

Bolton got the idea while recording his Time, Love & Tenderness album. Columbia Records executives Tommy Mottola and Donnie Ienner visited the studio to hear what he was working on. Bolton mentioned wanting to record another oldie remake, and both executives simultaneously suggested this song. Bolton enthusiastically agreed. Co-producer Walter Afanasieff played organ on the recording, having performed the song at clubs and weddings for years. Bolton initially hated his vocal performance and flew from Los Angeles back to New York weeks after finishing the album to re-record it, only to change his mind when he and Afanasieff listened to the original take again.

Percy Sledge had recorded the original at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, in February 1966. Written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, members of Sledge’s backing band The Esquires, the song was inspired by Sledge’s girlfriend leaving him for a modeling job in Los Angeles. It hit number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts in April 1966, becoming the first number one recorded in Muscle Shoals. The track also became one of only seven number ones to debut on the Hot 100 at number 100. The song found new life in 1987 when it peaked at number two in the UK after appearing in a Levi’s commercial.

Bolton’s version appeared on Time, Love & Tenderness, his seventh studio album, which topped the charts and went multi-platinum. The album spawned other hits including his original “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”, which had won him a Grammy the previous year. Bolton achieved peak recognition in the late eighties and early nineties covering soul classics by Otis Redding and Percy Sledge, though critics accused him of being derivative. His overwrought vocal style divided listeners: some heard passion, others heard melodrama. The debate intensified with this cover, which featured Bolton’s signature raspy delivery building from tender opening to powerful climax.

Joe Cocker had covered the song in 1989 for a James Brown live album, earning a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song despite never being released as a single. Bette Midler’s 1980 version reached number 35 in the US. Burton Cummings, Luba, and countless others recorded versions across decades. Bolton’s take became the definitive nineties interpretation, appearing in films and Bacardi Rum commercials throughout the decade. In 1999, Sledge’s original was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and he entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, performing the song as a tribute to his wife Rosa.

What makes Bolton’s cover endure is how it brought a soul classic to audiences who might never have discovered Sledge’s original. Bolton’s polished production and dramatic vocal delivery transformed it into an adult contemporary staple, though purists argue the arrangement loses the desperate resignation of Sledge’s version. Bolton asks for too much where Sledge accepts romantic loss with grace. The key change and soaring climax turn subtlety into spectacle. But commercial success speaks its own language: the cover sold millions and introduced a new generation to one of soul music’s greatest songs. Sometimes the messenger matters less than the message reaching new ears, even if he forgets to thank the original messenger at the podium.