Soul legend Percy Sledge, famous for singing ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’, has died at the age of 73. He passed away at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday April 14th.

Steve Green, a representative from the singer’s talent agency Artists International Management, confirmed the news of his death. Sledge had been giving live performances regularly until January 2014, when he was reported to have been diagnosed with liver cancer.

He underwent surgery to combat the disease soon afterwards, and had resumed performing later in the year. “He was one of my first acts, he was a terrific person and you don't find that in this business very often,” said Green in tribute. “He was truly a standout.”

Percy SledgePercy Sledge: 1941-2015

Born in 1941 in Leighton, Alabama, Sledge worked a number of agricultural jobs before working as an orderly at Colbert County Hospital. A colleague heard him singing, and recommended him to producer Quin Ivy.

His 1966 single ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’ was the first of many US Number 1 hits to be recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama, a place where rock and soul legends from Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones would later record.

Recalling the experience, Sledge told the 2013 documentary ‘Muscle Shoals’: “When I came into the studio, I was shaking like a leaf. I was scared,” he said, adding that it was the “same melody that I sang when I was out in the fields. I just wailed out in the woods and let the echo come back to me.”

The song reached the Top Ten in Britain on two occasions, peaking at Number 4, while in America it was a massive chart-topper, remaining one of the most definitive soul ballads to this day. It helped to fuel a long and successful touring career for Sledge, who is believed to have given an average of 100 live performances per year up to 2014.

Sledge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. He is survived by his wife and children.

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