Soul singer Percy Sledge died at his home in Baton Rouge Tuesday. He was 74.
Best known for belting out “When a Man Loves a Woman,” the Alabama-native topped charts for weeks in 1966 when he released his debut single, which turns 49 later this week.
“When a Man Loves a Woman” was the first hit to come out of Muscle Shoals, Ala., a place where the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin would later record.
The song jumpstarted Sledge’s career, and was a main reason he averaged over 100 performances a year.
(Photo: Getty Images)
He started out as an orderly at a local hospital who only sang part-time, but after a patient introduced him to a recording company, he went on to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.