Percy Sledge
b. 25 November 1941, Leighton, Alabama, USA. An informal, intimate singer, Sledge led a popular campus attraction, the Esquires Combo, prior to his recording debut. Recommended to Quin Ivy, owner of the Norala Sound studio, Percy arrived with a rudimentary draft of When A Man Loves A Woman. A timeless single, its simple arrangement hinged on Spooner Oldham's organ sound and the singer's homely, nasal intonation. Released in 1966, it was a huge international hit, setting the tone for Percy's subsequent path. A series of emotional, poignant ballads followed, poised between country and soul, but none would achieve the same commercial profile. It Tears Me Up, Out Of Left Field (both 1967) and Take Time To Know Her (1968) nonetheless stand amongst southern soul's finest achievements. Having abandoned Atlantic Records, Sledge re-emerged on Capricorn in 1974 where I'LL BE YOUR EVERYTHING continued this chosen direction. Two '80s collections, PERCY and WANTED AGAIN, offer similar fare, and confirm the singer's intimate yet unassuming delivery. Released in Britain following the runaway success of a resurrected When A Man Loves A Woman, they are not diminished by comparison.