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PERCY
SLEDGE (ARTIST BIOGRAPHY)
Percy Sledge (born November 25, 1940, Leighton,
Alabama) is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit
"When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.
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, Alabama. 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.
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 March 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. Because bassist
Calvin Lewis and organist Andrew Wright helped him with the song, he
gave all the songwriting credits to them. It reached #1 in the U.S.
and went on to become an international hit. The song 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), "It
Tears Me Up", "Take Time to Know Her" (his second biggest U.S. hit,
reaching #11), "Love Me Tender", 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. Sledge's
career enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s once "When a Man Loves a
Woman" re-entered the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart after being
used in a Levi's commercial.
In 1994, Saul Davis and Barry Goldberg produced his new album, the
Grammy nominated for « Best Contemporary Blues Album, Vocal or
Instrumental » Blue Night for Philippe Le Bras' Sky Ranch label/
Virgin Records, which featured Bobby Womack, Steve Cropper, and Mick
Taylor among others. In 1996 Blue Night won the W.C. Handy Award for
best Soul/Blues album.
In 2004, Davis and Goldberg also produced the Shining Through the
Rain album which led to his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of
Fame. Songs on the CD were written by Mikael Rickfors, Steve Earle,
the Bee Gees, Carla Olson, Denny Freeman, Allan Clarke and Jackie
Lomax.
In the 1980s, Sledge re-recorded many of his signature hits, as well
as handful of hits by other artists, and most of the cut-rate CDs
available all over Europe and the US are from those re-recordings,
making it confusing to find the real, original recordings. Those
issued by Atlantic, Collectables and Rhino are the original versions.
Sledge was an inaugural Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award
honoree in 1989. He won the W.C. Handy Blues Awards in 1996 for best
Soul/Blues album of the year with his record Blue Night In 2005, he
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in May 2007,
Percy Sledge was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame for
his contributions to the state's music. Sledge is also an inductee
of the Delta Music Museum in Ferriday, Louisiana.
In November 2004, Percy Sledge was inducted into the Carolina Beach
Music Hall Of Fame.
(Info Wikipedia) |
PERCY
SLEDGE (ARTIST BIOGRAPHY)
Percy
Sledge (born 25 November 1941 in Leighton, Alabama) is a US-American
R&B and soul performer.
Percy Sledge worked in the fields in Leighton before he worked as an
orderly at Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield. By the mid-1960s,
Sledge was touring the Southeast with the Esquires Combo on weekends
and working at the hospital. A former patient who was a friend of
producer Quin Ivy introduced the two, an audition followed, and
Sledge was signed to a recording contract.
Sledge’s smooth 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 the first song recorded under the
contract (released in 1966), and it became not only an international
hit (it reached #1 in the US) but was also the first gold record
released by Atlantic Records. The magnificent soul anthem became the
cornerstone of Sledge’s career and was followed by “Warm and Tender
Love”, “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.
His career enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s when “When a Man Loves
a Woman” re-entered the Top 10 in the UK after being used in a
Levi’s commercial.
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.
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