Percy Sledge Dead: 'When A Man Loves A Woman' Singer Dies, Aged 73
Courtesy of http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32301435
US soul singer Percy Sledge, famed for his song When a Man Loves a Woman, has died aged 73.
Steve Green from talent agency Artists International Management Inc confirmed to the BBC that he had died at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday."He was one of my first acts, he was a terrific person and you don't find that in this business very often," said Green. "He was truly a standout."
When a Man Loves a Woman reached the top 10 twice in the UK.
It topped the US Billboard chart for two weeks in 1966, when it got to number four in the UK chart. It reached number two when it was re-released in the UK in 1987. Later this week it will be the 49th anniversary of the song's release.
Sledge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
He started his working life as a hospital nurse in the early 1960s before he became a singer.
His other hits included Warm and Tender Love, It Tears Me Up and Take Time to Know Her.
Sledge is survived by his wife and children.
His biggest hit When A Man Loves a Woman found new life in 1991 when Michael Bolton's cover of the song topped the Billboard chart.
Sledge's version was the first US number one to have been recorded at Alabama's historic Muscle Shoals studio, where Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones would record.
It was also the first gold record for Atlantic Records.
