Legendary soul singer Percy Sledge passed away Tuesday at the age of 73.
Sledge is best known for the iconic single "When a Man Loves a Woman," but had several other hits over the course of his career.
The gospel and R&B singer passed away in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of natural causes, according to East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. William Clark. Sledge had suffered from diabetes and cancer, and was in hospice care.
Sledge said the melody for "When a Man Loves a Woman" was with him beginning in childhood.
"I hummed it all my life, even when I was picking and chopping cotton in the fields," he told the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ahead of his induction.
The Alabama native was working as an orderly in Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama, when he put words to the song. Sledge was 25 years old, and suffering from a broken heart.
"I was in love with a girl I met on a blind date, which is what made me write this song from that melody I had as a child," he shared with Blues & Soul Magazine.
"She left me for another guy, and I expressed myself in that song. How could she do me like this? I'd give her my last dime. Sleep out in the rain. All she had to do was be next to me."
Sledge gave the credit for the song to two members of his R&B group, and never benefitted from the single's enormous popularity. Although he and his estate would have profitted millions from royalties and licensing fees from "When a Man Loves a Woman," Sledge said that it was all part of God's plan.
"Worst decision I ever made. But I am not at all bitter," he said. "I figure if God wanted me to do what I did, and say what I did to tell those guys they could have the song, then I'll leave it that away [sic] and I would never change it…
"The way I feel; it was God's will for me to give it to them," he continued.
Other popular songs by Sledge include "Warm and Tender Love," "It Tears Me Up," "Take Time To Know Her," "Love Me Tender," "Cover Me," "I'll Be Your Everything," and "Sunshine." He is survived by his wife, Rosa and 12 children.
