R&B Singer Percy Sledge Dies At 73
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BATON ROUGE, LA (CBSDFW) - Percy Sledge, the famed R&B performer that sang the hit 'When a Man Loves A Woman' died this morning at age 73 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Sledge's 1966 hit "'When a Man Loves a Woman' topped the R&B and pop charts for multiple weeks and raised the bar for soul balladeering for all time.
Sledge's first recording took him from hospital orderly to a long touring career, averaging 100 performances a year and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
Between 1966 and 1968, Sledge used his forlorn, crying vocal style to record a series of Southern soul standards.
Over the years he sang many more hits including 'Warm and Tender Love,' 'It Tears Me Up,' 'Out of Left Field' and 'Take Time to Know Her.'"
His most-famous song was inspired by real life events. "When a Man Loves a Woman" was about "a girl who left Sledge for another guy," his bio reads.
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