Percy Sledge, RIP

Writes Joseph Salerno:

Percy Sledge passed away in Louisiana on Tuesday at the age of 74, survived by his wife and twelve children.  Sledge is known almost exclusively for recording in 1966 one of the most ineffably moving soul ballads of all time, “When a Man Loves a Woman.” It was a number one hit across several musical genres.  Very few ballads approach it in the intensity of the feeling expressed in the vocals.  One of the exceptions that jumps to mind is the Righteous Brothers’ blue-eyed soul classic, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” Sledge’s extraordinarily evocative performance could only have had the impact that it did during the glorious era of the 1960s, when artists in all musical genres mutually influenced one another and hits easily crossed over from soul charts to pop and rock charts.  This crossover movement was greatly advanced, if not initiated,  by the Beatles, who liberally covered recordings by black artists on their early albums, including five songs originally performed by so-called “girl groups” of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Like many musical greats, Sledge was mercilessly hounded by the feds for tax evasion in his elder years.  “He was sentenced to six months in a halfway house, given five years of probation, and ordered to pay $96,000 in back taxes and fines. When he pleaded guilty, he told the judge, ‘I knew I owed more.’”

The Best of Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.