'When a Man Loves a Woman' singer Percy Sledge dies at 73

Percy Sledge — the R&B legend best known for the hit song "When a Man Loves a Woman" — has died at his Baton Rouge home following a long battle with cancer. He was 73.

Though his career spanned nearly 50 years, including the 2013 album The Gospel of Percy Sledge, Sledge would always be most recognized for "When a Man Loves a Woman," the impassioned, smash-hit single that launched his career. As the story goes, producer Quin Ivy discovered Sledge performing an early version of the mournful ballad during a club tour in the American south. Sledge explained that the song was inspired by his recent losses: a construction job from which he'd been fired, and his relationship with a woman who had dumped him to pursue a modeling contract in Los Angeles.

Sledge's song struck a chord with Quin, who rewrote the lyrics into the song that eventually became "When a Man Loves a Woman." It charted at No. 1 for 13 weeks, and was later covered by artists including Bette Midler and Michael Bolton, whose own version became a No. 1 hit. —Scott Meslow

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