Warm And Tender Love – Percy Sledge | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#17) and R&B (#5 ); 1966
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
While Percy Sledge spent May of 1966 atop the R&B list with When A Man Loves A Woman, his cousin, Jimmy “Steal Away” Hughes, debuted with his latest entry: Neighbor, Neighbor.
As Percy’s Woman ran its course, Jimmy’s Neighbor rose to #4 R&B. Percy was equally hopeful for a second straight smash with the release of Warm And Tender Love.
The summer wore on and Warm And Tender Love rose to #5, followed by It Tears Me Up’s #7 peak to close out 1966. In 1967 Hughes scored his final Top 5 R&B track with Why Not Tonight while Sledge returned to the rhythm Top 10 in ’68 with Take Time To Know Her.
Percy struggled on for a few years; finishing off his chart career in 1974 with I’ll Be Your Everything. He didn’t, however, fade from memory. When Woman was used in a 1987 British Levi jeans commercial, it was reissued and raced to #2 in the UK: besting its 1966 #4 peak.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Marlin Greene
- Quin Ivy
Lyrics Written by:
- Bobby Robinson
- Clara Thompson
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).