I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
Aretha Franklin | Artist Essentials
First released: 1967 (year verified)
Original 1967 Atlantic studio recording
MusicAtlas editorial note: The restrained accompaniment leaves the vocal plenty of room to bend and press against the beat.
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Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1967 (year verified)
The February 1967 single precedes the March album of the same name. Only the shared verified year is asserted.
Recording: Original 1967 Atlantic studio recording
Credit: Aretha Franklin
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original single: I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) / Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
The Atlantic Singles 1967 - official Rhino release listing
Identifies the five original 1967 single pairings, including I Never Loved a Man, Respect, A Natural Woman and Chain of Fools. The modern box date is not an original-release date. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
Record World, 29 May 1976 - Aretha singles and album discographies
Contemporary release-date tables in the Aretha supplement, PDF pages 44 and 46: 1967 singles and debut LP; Think single before Aretha Now in 1968; Rock Steady single in 1971 before Young, Gifted and Black in 1972; Day Dreaming in 1972; Until You Come Back to Me in 1973 before its 1974 album. Month differences against later Rhino histories are not resolved into exact dates. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
I Never Loved a Man the Way That I Love You - Rhino catalog
Identifies the original 1967 Atlantic album and track list, with its original mono mixes separated from stereo bonuses. Its 1995 CD date and inconsistent displayed track durations are not used. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
In the yearly lists
These are listening-list appearances, separate from the first-release date.
About Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin developed as a singer and pianist in the gospel life of her father's Detroit church. Her early recordings for Columbia drew on pop, blues and jazz before her Atlantic work brought gospel phrasing and rhythm into a defining run of soul records. Respect and the albums Lady Soul and Aretha Now belong to that late-1960s period. She also continued recording gospel, including Amazing Grace, and later explored dance-oriented pop during her Arista years.
Artist background sources
Aretha Franklin - Rhino artist history
Detroit gospel upbringing, singing and piano, Columbia and Atlantic eras, late-1960s albums, Amazing Grace and later Arista recordings. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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