Percy Sledge
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Percy Sledge (born November 25, 1940, Leighton, Alabama) is an American R&B and soul performer.
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[edit] Career
Percy Sledge worked in a series of blue-collar jobs in the fields in Leighton, Alabama before taking a job as an orderly at Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield. Through the mid 1960s, he toured the Southeast with the Esquires Combo on weekends while working at the hospital during the week. A former patient and mutual friend of Sledge and record producer Quin Ivy introduced the two. An audition followed, and Sledge was signed to a recording contract.[1]
Sledge's soulful voice was perfect for the series of soul ballads produced by Ivy and Marlin Greene, which rock critic Dave Marsh called "emotional classics for romantics of all ages."
"When a Man Loves a Woman" was Sledge's first song recorded under the contract, and was released in 1966. The song's inspiration came when Sledge's girlfriend left him for a modeling career after he was laid off from construction job in late 1965.[2] It became not only an international hit but reached #1 in the U.S.) and was also the first gold record released by Atlantic Records. The soul anthem became the cornerstone of Sledge's career, and was followed by "Warm and Tender Love" (Covered by UK songstress Elkie Brooks in 1981), "Take Time to Know Her", and "Cover Me".
Sledge charted with "I'll Be Your Everything" and "Sunshine" during the 1970s, and has become an international concert favorite throughout the world, especially in the Netherlands, Germany, and on the African continent, and South Africa in particular.
His career enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s when "When a Man Loves a Woman" re-entered the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart after being used in a Levi's commercial.
[edit] Awards
Sledge was an inaugural Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award honoree in 1989. In 2005, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In May 2007, Percy Sledge was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame for his contributions to the state's music.[1]
[edit] Trivia
- Singer-songwriter Robin Gibb wrote the lyrics to the song "I've Gotta Get a Message to You", with Sledge in mind, however, Robin, and his brothers, The Bee Gees recorded the song, and went to #1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1968.
- Lee Atwater, a Republican political strategist who worked for Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush and was Karl Rove's mentor, briefly played backup guitar for Percy Sledge during the 1960s.[3]
- His cousin Jimmy Hughes hit the top 20 on Billboard's pop charts in 1964 with the soulful hit "Steal Away".
[edit] Selected discography
[edit] Singles
| Release date | Title | Chart Positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US R&B | Canada | UK | ||
| 1966 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" | #1 | #1 | #1 | #4 |
| 1966 | "Warm and Tender Love" | #17 | #5 | #10 | #34 |
| 1966 | "It Tears Me Up" | #20 | #7 | #12 | |
| 1967 | "Baby, Help Me" | #87 | #44 | ||
| 1967 | "Out Of Left Field" | #59 | #25 | ||
| 1967 | "Love Me Tender" (A-Side) | #40 | #35 | #35 | |
| 1967 | → "What Am I Living For" (B-Side) | #91 | |||
| 1967 | "Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)" | #66 | |||
| 1967 | "Cover Me" | #42 | #39 | ||
| 1968 | "Take Time to Know Her" | #11 | #6 | #5 | |
| 1968 | "Sudden Stop" | #63 | #41 | ||
| 1968 | "You're All Around Me" | #109 | |||
| 1969 | "My Special Prayer" | #93 | #44 | ||
| 1969 | "Any Day Now" (A-Side) | #86 | #35 | ||
| 1969 | → "The Angels Listened In" (B-Side) | #126 | |||
| 1969 | "Kind Woman" | #116 | |||
| 1969 | "True Love Travels On A Gravel Road" | ||||
| 1970 | "Many Rivers to Cross" | ||||
| 1970 | "Help Me Make It Through the Night" | ||||
| 1971 | "Stop The World Tonight" | ||||
| 1972 | "Rainbow Road" | ||||
| 1972 | "Sunday Brother" | ||||
| 1973 | "Sunshine" | #89 | |||
| 1974 | "I'll Be Your Everything" | #62 | #15 | ||
| 1987 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Re-issue) | #2 | |||
[edit] Compilation albums
| 1987 | When a Man Loves a Woman (The Ultimate Collection) | UK #36 |
[edit] References
[edit] Footnotes
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
- ^ a b Aswell, Tom. Louisiana Music Hall of Fame - Percy Sledge - 2007. Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2008-02-25..
- ^ Entertainment - Percy Sledge Inspired by Former Relationship, Wrote Hit Song. The Standard Report (2006-11-15). Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Fontenot, Robert. Percy Sledge History, Charts, and Songs. about.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-25..
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 19th Edition - ISBN 1-904994-10-5
- The Book of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
[edit] See also
- Sledging (cricket), which in part got its name from Percy Sledge
