US soul singer Percy Sledge, most famous for his song “When a Man Loves a Woman”, has died aged 74, at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Of course Percy Sledge will always be best known for his debut single When a Man Loves a Woman, which reached No4 in the UK chart and No1 on the US Billboard chart in 1966, but he did have other hit singles!!

Percy Sledge told BBC Radio 6 Music’s Craig Charles in a 2011 interview that he created the melody for When A Man Loves A Woman whilst working in the cotton fields in Alabama; but signed away the rights of the song to Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, because “I didn’t know any better. I had the melody in my mind so I gave that song to them.”

Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright then added the lyrics to Percy Sledge’s melody. He declined to contest  the agreement in later years, saying: “I felt like if God fixed it in my mouth to give it to them I won’t change anything about it. I’m satisfied with what I wrote but I cut my kids out of so much because I gave it to someone else – I just wasn’t thinking.”

The Record Press author’s introduction to When a Man Loves a Woman, was when it was re-released in the UK in 1987 ( reaching No2 ) after being used in the soundtrack in Oliver Stone’s film Platoon, and also featured in several other films such as The Big Chill and The Crying Game. Perhaps most memorably, it also featured in a Levis jeans TV commercial in 1987.

To this day When a Man Loves a Woman has remained Percy Sledge’s biggest hit and acted as the keystone for a long touring career in the US, Europe and South Africa, averaging 100 performances a year. His other chart successes included Warm and Tender Love, It Tears Me Up and Take Time to Know Her, but they will always be eclipsed by the timeless and universal sentiment of When a Man Loves a Woman……..

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