BATON ROUGE – Percy Sledge died this morning at about one o’clock. He was surrounded by family.
A native of Leighton, Sledge in 1966 recorded the seminal love song of a generation, “When A Man Loves A Woman” in Sheffield in a little homemade recording studio on 2nd Street. He went on to record hit after hit for years, and was one of the most beloved recording artists of his time.
Sledge had been battling cancer for the past 2 years.
In recent years, Sledge performed at a number of events here in The Shoals. And even though he resided in Louisiana, he always called this place home. He was honored, along with producer, Quin Ivey in 2014 with a historical marker in his name at the site of the little recording studio where the two men and a group of talented musicians made history.
Much of his family, notably children and grandchildren still reside here. Sledge would occasionally come to town to visit them, and to see friends, including David Johnson, who worked with him on numerous recordings. “I’ve known Percy since 1966. I loved him like a brother, and I will miss him,” said Johnson, who was informed of the passing by one of Sledge’s children earlier today. “He was a peoples favorite.”
The Quad-Cities Daily has been on hand to photograph appearances by Percy Sledge, and we present several photographs here.
1 comment
thank you for posting the pics….I have cried for an hour. I loved him.