Percy Sledge, the voice behind R&B classic “When a Man Loves a Woman” and other hits, has died at his Baton Rouge, LA home, reports Billboard. He was 73:
During the mid-sixties, Sledge worked as a hospital nurse while touring to get his music career off the ground. “When a Man Loves a Woman,” his first song recorded under contract, was a massive smash and would endure as his signature song. The song was co-written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, his bandmates in a group called The Esquires Combo. It was the only song the duo wrote together, and the first Muscle Shoals single to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100.
His follow-up, “Warm and Tender Love,” reached No. 17 on the Hot 100, and he continued to score Hot 100 hits as the ’60s came to a close. – [Billboard]
Rest in peace, Percy. Your music lives on. Stream his greatest hits via Rdio below…
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