Percy Sledge

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Percy Sledge


Img_capt = Percy Sledge as he appears at the Delta Music Museum in Ferriday, Louisiana
Img_size = 175px
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1940|11|25|mf=y
Leighton, Alabama
Died =
Origin = Leighton, Alabama
Instrument = Vocals
Voice_type =
Genre = R&B, soul
Occupation =
Years_active =
Label = Atlantic Records, Collectables Records, Capricorn Records, Point Blank Records, Diablo Records, Sledgehammer Records, Varèse Sarabande
Associated_acts =
URL = http://www.psledge.com/

Percy Sledge (born November 25, 1940) is an American R&B and soul performer.

Biography

Early career

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.cite web|publisher = Louisiana Music Hall of Fame|first = Tom|last = Aswell|title = Louisiana Music Hall of Fame - Percy Sledge - 2007|url = http://louisianamusichalloffame.org/ozzy/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=42|accessdate = 2008-02-25.]

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 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. [cite web|title = Entertainment - Percy Sledge Inspired by Former Relationship, Wrote Hit Song|publisher = The Standard Report|date = 2006-11-15|accessdate = 2008-02-25|url = http://web.archive.org/web/20061120185049/http://www.thestandardreport.com/archives/entertainmnet/fall04/sledge.html] 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), "Take Time to Know Her" (his second biggest U.S. hit, reaching #11), 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.

Later career

Sledge's career enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s when "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 "Blue Night", which featured Bobby Womack, Steve Cropper, and Mick Taylor among others.

In 2004, Davis and Goldberg also produced "Shining Through the Rain".

Awards

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.

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.

Trivia

* Singer-songwriter Robin Gibb wrote the lyrics to the song "I've Gotta Get a Message to You", with Sledge in mind, however, Robin, and his brothers, The Bee Gees recorded the song, and went to #1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1968. Sledge DID record ther song in February, 1970 (Atlantic matrix #18674), but it has only been released 3 times; the Atlantic European-only lp, "My Special Prayer" (Atlantic 588 220), the German best of from the 1980's (Atantic 50747) and on the "Soul of The Bee Gees" CD (The Right Stuff 7243-8-35600-2-8) from 1996.

* Lee Atwater, a Republican political strategist who worked for Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush and was Karl Rove's mentor, briefly played backup guitar for Percy Sledge during the 1960s. [cite web|title = Percy Sledge History, Charts, and Songs|first = Robert|last = Fontenot|url = http://oldies.about.com/od/soulmotown/p/percysledge.htm|accessdate = 2008-02-25|publisher = about.com.]

* His cousin Jimmy Hughes hit the top 20 on Billboard's pop charts in 1964 with the hit "Steal Away".

elected discography

ingles

Compilation albums

ee also

*Sledging (cricket), which in part got its name from Percy Sledge

Footnotes

References

* Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 19th Edition - ISBN 1-904994-10-5
* The Book of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6

External links

* [http://www.psledge.com/ Official site]
*imdb name|id=1429510|name=Percy Sledge
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jiftxqr5ld0e Percy Sledge] at Allmusic
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Percy+Sledge Percy Sledge] at Discogs
* [http://www.thestandardreport.com/archives/entertainmnet/fall04/sledge.html Percy Sledge article on The Standard Report]
* [http://www.rhythmandtheblues.org.uk/artists/sledge.shtml Percy Sledge biography at the Rhytmandtheblues.org website]

Persondata
NAME= Sledge, Percy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Singer
DATE OF BIRTH= November 25, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH=Leighton, Alabama
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=