R&B legend Percy Sledge passed away just after midnight at the age of 73 in Baton Rouge, La. Sledge is best-known for his mega-hit, “When a Man Loves a Woman.” He had been in hospice care after undergoing surgery for liver cancer last year.
Born in Leighton, Ala., Sledge worked various tough jobs throughout his young life, including picking cotton, doing construction, and working as an orderly in a hospital, where the healing power of his voice eventually landed him a record deal.
According to NOLA.com:
As an orderly, he’d sing to patients to help them feel better, which eventually led to his being tapped to sing at the Elks Club… In attendance happened to be Quin Ivy, a disc jockey at WLAY, who pushed Sledge to cut a record.
In 1966, Sledge’s girlfriend left him to pursue a modeling career. Heartbroken, he penned the emotional ballad, “When a Man Loves a Woman,” which became a chart-topper. Most of his music was produced in Muscle Shoals, Ala., including “Take Time to Know Her,” “Warm and Tender Love” and “It Tears Me Up.” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 and recorded music until 2013.
In the 2013 documentary Muscle Shoals, a smiling Sledge talks about his early life:
“I was a little guy working in the fields, chopping cotton, singing to the older people in the fields, that always said one day my voice would be heard all over the world, but I never thought that would happen.”
The old folks he serenaded were right, and his legacy will live on. Rest in peace.
Via NOLA.com
