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Percy Sledge Biography
Percy Tyrone Sledge was an American R&B, soul, and gospel vocalist. In 1966, his song “When a Man Loves a Woman” was a No. 1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B singles charts. The RIAA awarded it a million-selling, Gold-certified disc.
Percy was born in Leighton, Alabama, on November 25, 1940. Before getting a job as an orderly at Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama, he worked in a variety of agricultural occupations in the fields in Leighton. He toured the Southeast with the Esquires Combo on weekends during the mid-1960s, while working at the hospital during the week. Percy and song producer Quin Ivy were acquainted by a previous patient and mutual acquaintance. Following an audition, he was offered a recording contract. Percy’s deep voice was ideal for Ivy and Marlin Greene’s series of soul ballads, which rock reviewer Dave Marsh described as “emotional classics for romantics of all ages.”
“When a Man Loves a Woman,” Percy’s first single under the contract, was released in March 1966. His fiancée left him for a modeling career after he was fired from a construction job in late 1965, prompting him to create the song. After When a Man Loves a Woman, he had a string of chart success and critical acclaim, with Warm and Tender Love and It Tears Me Up joining it in the R&B top 10, but his popularity declined during the 1970s, despite a return with I’ll Be Your Everything in 1974. However, his signature tune didn’t let him down, and in the 1980s, Levi’s used When a Man Loves a Woman in a jeans commercial in the United Kingdom, driving the song to No. 2 in the British charts in 1987. The reissue of another soul classic, Ben E King’s Stand By Me, kept it off of the top spot, ironically. In 1991, when Michael Bolton’s rendition of the song reached the top of the Billboard charts and won Bolton a Grammy, audiences were reminded of the song’s enduring impact once more.
He has 14 songs in the Top 100 Hot Billboard, five of which reached the top 40, and one of which reached the top 10, which was also his number one hit “When a Man Loves a Woman,” which stayed on the chart for two weeks.
He married twice, and his second wife, Rosa Sledge, whom he married in 1980, survived him. He had a total of 12 children, three of them went on to become famous vocalists.
Percy died of liver cancer on April 14, 2015, at the age of 74, at his Baton Rouge residence. Heavenly Gates Cemetery in Baton Rouge was where he was laid to rest.
Discography
| The Gospel of Percy Sledge |  |
| Shining Through the Rain | |
| Blue Night | |
| I’ll Be Your Everything | |
| Percy Sledge In South Africa | |
| The Best of Percy Sledge | |
| Take Time to Know Her | |
| The Percy Sledge Way | |
| Warm & Tender Soul | |
| When a Man Loves a Woman | |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where Is Percy Sledge From?
Percy Sledge is from Alabama. He was born in Leighton and raised in Sheffield.
When Was Percy Sledge When A Man Loves A Woman Released?
The song “When a Man Loves a Woman” was released by Percy Sledge in 1966. It quickly became a hit, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has been covered by many artists over the years and remains a popular favorite.
What Was Percy Sledge Real Name?
Percy Sledge’s real name was Percy Tyrone Sledge.
Percy Sledge- When A Man Loves A Woman Released?
Most Searched For Percy Sledge Songs
| When a man loves a woman | |
| You really got a hold on me | |
| Christmas wish (Aka my Christmas wish for you | |
| My special prayer (Of my two empty arms) | |
| Dark end of the street | |
| Take time to know her | |
| Warm and tender love | |
| A whiter shade of pale | |
| What am I living for | |
| It tears me up | |
| My adorable one | |
| Cover me | |