Legendary R&B and soul singer, Percy Sledge, has passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 73.
He died on yesterday at his Baton Rouge, Louisiana home, his agent confirmed, reported Us magazine.
Sledge is best known for his 1966 hit "When a Man Loves a Woman", but his music career spans 50 years.
His most recent release was 2013's album "The Gospel of Percy Sledge". Sledge, who worked as a hospital nurse in the early 1960s, reportedly achieved strongest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
His other top singles include, "Warm and Tender Love", "It Tears Me Up", "Out of Left Field" and "Take Time to Know Her".
He earned the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Career Achievement Award in 1989 and later was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
"I hummed it all my life, even when I was picking and chopping cotton in the fields," Sledge said of his classic "When a Man Loves a Woman" in his Hall of Fame bio.
The song was originally written after a girlfriend left Sledge for another man.
Michael Bolton, who sang the same song, bringing it back to the charts in 1991, paid tribute to the musician.
"An inspiration as an artist & one of the most gracious human beings. We sang together. Forever grateful! Love MB," Bolton tweeted.
