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Percy Sledge was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer who was born on November 25, 1940. He was born in Leighton, Alabama. He once had an agricultural job at Leighton before he worked at the Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama.
In the mid-1960s, Percy Sledge toured the Southeast with the Esquires Combo on weekends even though he was still working at the Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama.
Percy Sledge was introduced to record producer Quin Ivy by a patient and a friend of Percy Sledge. He then took part in an audition He was subsequently given a recording contract as he was successful in the audition.
He was quite popular because of the song titled “When a Man Loves a Woman. “When a Man Loves a Woman was a No. 1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 1966. It was a Gold-certified disc from the RIAA and it was released in March 1966.
Percy Sledge got the inspiration for “When a Man Loves a Woman’’ through his girlfriend and this was after his girlfriend had left for a modeling career after he was laid off from a construction job in late 1965. He was helped by bassist Calvin Lewis and organist Andrew Wright to write the song.
Percy Sledge Cause of Death
Percy Sledge died of liver cancer at his home in Baton Rouge. He died on April 14, 2015. At the time of his death, he was 74 years old.
Percy Sledge was buried in Baton Rouge’s Heavenly Gates Cemetery. Before his death, he had married twice with twelve children. Three of his children were singers.
Accolades
As a musician, Percy Sledge was honored several times. He was a Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award honoree in 1989 and in 1993, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
Percy Sledge was the recipient of the Blues Music Award in 1996 for best Soul/Blues Album of the Year with his record Blue Nigh.
In 2004, he was inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame. Other honors received by Percy Sledge include Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, Induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame for his contributions by the State of Louisiana in May 2007 and Induction into the Delta Music Museum in Ferriday, Louisiana.
He was also inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2021.
Reference :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Sledge
