Percy Sledge
Encyclopedia
Percy Sledge is an American
R&B
and soul
performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman
" in 1966.
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. "When A Man Loves A Woman" was a hit twice in the UK, reaching #6 in 1966 and, on reissue, peaked at #2 in 1987. 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.
, peaking at #2, behind the reissued Ben E King classic "Stand By Me", after being used in a Levi's commercial
.
In 1994, Saul Davis and Barry Goldberg produced his new album, Blue Night, for Philippe Le Bras' Sky Ranch label and Virgin Records. It featured Bobby Womack
, Steve Cropper
, and Mick Taylor
among others. Blue Night received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album, Vocal or Instrumental, and in 1996 it won the W.C. Handy Award for best soul or 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.
Sometime in the late 1990s, Michael Bolton brought "When A Man Loves A Woman" back into the limelight again on his smash hit album "Time, Love, & Tenderness", all with the permission of Percy Sledge.
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.
In December, 2010, Rhino Handmade issued a 4 CD retrospective "The Atlantic Recordings", which covers all of the issued Atlantic masters, as well as many of the tracks unissued in the US (some got released in Europe and South Africa). What makes this limited edition release frustrating is that many of the mono tracks on discs 2, 3 and 4 have previously been issued in stereo (disc 1 comprises Sledge's first two LPs which were not recorded on stereo equipment).
In October 2011 Sledge featured on the Cliff Richard album Soulicious, also appearing live on stage in the tour of the same name, reprising his top hit "When A Man Loves A Woman" as well as dueting with Sir Cliff.
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
.
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.
Among the many notable performances of Sledge's career was a cabaret appearance in 2005 alongside Liverpool's infamous "Steam Packet" at The Pumphouse, Albert Dock.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman
When a Man Loves a Woman (song)
"When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. It was listed 54th in the List of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest songs of all time...
" in 1966.
Early career
Percy Sledge worked in a series of blue-collar jobs in the fields in Leighton, AlabamaLeighton, Alabama
Leighton is a town in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Florence - Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals". At the 2000 census the population was 849...
before taking a job as an orderly at Colbert County
Colbert County, Alabama
Colbert County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of brothers George and Levi Colbert, Chickasaw Indian chiefs. George Colbert operated a ferry across the Tennessee River in 1790 near present day Cherokee....
Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama
Sheffield, Alabama
Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in The Shoals MSA. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 9,652. Sheffield is the birthplace of notable attorney, actor, former senator and presidential contender Fred Thompson...
. Through the mid 1960s, he toured the Southeast
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
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
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Quin Ivy
Quin Ivy
Quin Ivy is a former disc jockey turned songwriter crucial to the Muscle Shoals scene in the 1960s.He was the son of a farmer who later moved to Oxford where he worked as a grocer. He was a DJ at WMPS in Memphis, WKDA in Nashville and WLAY in Muscle Shoals. He wrote songs with producer Rick Hall...
introduced the two. An audition followed, and Sledge was signed to a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
.
Sledge's soulful voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
was perfect for the series of soul ballads produced by Ivy and Marlin Greene, which rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
critic
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
called "emotional classics for romantics of all ages."
"When a Man Loves a Woman
When a Man Loves a Woman (song)
"When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. It was listed 54th in the List of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest songs of all time...
" 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and went on to become an international hit. "When A Man Loves A Woman" was a hit twice in the UK, reaching #6 in 1966 and, on reissue, peaked at #2 in 1987. The song was also the first gold record
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
released by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. The soul anthem became the cornerstone of Sledge's career, and was followed by "Warm and Tender Love" (Covered by UK songstress Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
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
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
favorite throughout the world, especially in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and on the African continent
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in particular.
Later career
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 ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, peaking at #2, behind the reissued Ben E King classic "Stand By Me", after being used in a Levi's commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
.
In 1994, Saul Davis and Barry Goldberg produced his new album, Blue Night, for Philippe Le Bras' Sky Ranch label and Virgin Records. It featured Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
, Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
, and Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
among others. Blue Night received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album, Vocal or Instrumental, and in 1996 it won the W.C. Handy Award for best soul or 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.
Sometime in the late 1990s, Michael Bolton brought "When A Man Loves A Woman" back into the limelight again on his smash hit album "Time, Love, & Tenderness", all with the permission of Percy Sledge.
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.
In December, 2010, Rhino Handmade issued a 4 CD retrospective "The Atlantic Recordings", which covers all of the issued Atlantic masters, as well as many of the tracks unissued in the US (some got released in Europe and South Africa). What makes this limited edition release frustrating is that many of the mono tracks on discs 2, 3 and 4 have previously been issued in stereo (disc 1 comprises Sledge's first two LPs which were not recorded on stereo equipment).
In October 2011 Sledge featured on the Cliff Richard album Soulicious, also appearing live on stage in the tour of the same name, reprising his top hit "When A Man Loves A Woman" as well as dueting with Sir Cliff.
Awards
Sledge was an inaugural Rhythm and Blues FoundationRhythm and Blues Foundation
The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music....
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
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
.
In May 2007, Percy Sledge was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame is an IRS certified 501 non-profit organization based in the state capitol of Baton Rouge, La., that seeks to preserve Louisiana's rich music culture and heritage and to further educate its citizens and people worldwide about the state’s unique role contributing...
for his contributions to the state's music. Sledge is also an inductee of the Delta Music Museum
Delta Music Museum
The Delta Music Museum is a museum located in Ferriday, Louisiana. It offers exhibits on sixteen rock and roll and blues musicians from the Mississippi River delta country. The museum opened with a grant from the State of Louisiana and is operated by local volunteers. There is no admission charge;...
in Ferriday, Louisiana
Ferriday, Louisiana
Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is three-fourths African American, was 3,723 at the 2000 census....
.
In November 2004, Percy Sledge was inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Hall Of Fame.
Among the many notable performances of Sledge's career was a cabaret appearance in 2005 alongside Liverpool's infamous "Steam Packet" at The Pumphouse, Albert Dock.
Singles
| Release date | Title | Chart Positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
U.S. R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
Canada | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||
| 1966 | "When a Man Loves a Woman When a Man Loves a Woman (song) "When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. It was listed 54th in the List of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest songs of all time... " |
1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| "Warm and Tender Love" | 17 | 5 | 10 | 34 | |
| "It Tears Me Up" | 20 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 1967 | "Baby, Help Me" | 87 | 44 | ||
| "Out of Left Field" | 59 | 25 | |||
| "Love Me Tender Love Me Tender (song) "Love Me Tender" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music, adapted from the tune of "Aura Lee" , a sentimental Civil War ballad.- History :... " (A-Side) |
40 | 35 | 35 | ||
| → "What Am I Living For" (B-Side) | 91 | ||||
| "Just out of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)" | 66 | ||||
| "Cover Me" | 42 | 39 | |||
| 1968 | "Take Time to Know Her" | 11 | 6 | 5 | |
| "Sudden Stop" | 63 | 41 | |||
| "You're All Around Me" | 109 | ||||
| 1969 | "My Special Prayer" | 93 | 44 | ||
| "Any Day Now" (A-Side) | 86 | 35 | |||
| → "The Angels Listened In" (B-Side) | 126 | ||||
| "Kind Woman" | 116 | ||||
| "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" | |||||
| 1970 | "Many Rivers to Cross Many Rivers to Cross - Song information :This is one of the few Cliff tracks to use an organ, which helps to supplement the gospel feel provided by the backing vocalists. Cliff released the song, with production work by Leslie Kong, on his 1969 album, Jimmy Cliff. It was also released on the 1972 soundtrack album for... " |
||||
| 1970 | "Help Me Make It Through the Night Help Me Make It Through the Night "Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country music ballad composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson.Kristofferson said that he got the inspiration for the song from an Esquire magazine interview with Frank Sinatra... " |
||||
| 1971 | "Stop The World Tonight" | ||||
| 1972 | "Rainbow Road" | ||||
| "Sunday Brother" | |||||
| 1973 | "Sunshine" | 89 | |||
| 1974 | "I'll Be Your Everything" | 62 | 15 | ||
| 1987 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Re-issue) | 2 |
Compilation albums
| Release date | Title | Chart Positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| February 1987 | When a Man Loves a Woman (The Ultimate Collection) | 36 |
External links
- Official site
- [ Percy Sledge] at Allmusic
- Percy Sledge at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Percy Sledge article on The Standard Report
- Percy Sledge biography at the Rhytmandtheblues.org website