Título: Percy Sledge
Seção: Early career
Background: Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 - April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song "When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 1966. It was awarded a million-selling, Gold-certified disc from the RIAA. Having previously worked as a hospital orderly in the early 1960s, Sledge achieved his strongest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a series of emotional soul songs.

Conteúdo: Sledge was born on November 25, 1940, in Leighton, Alabama. He worked in a series of agricultural jobs in the fields in Leighton before taking a job as an orderly at Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama. Through the mid-1960s, he toured the Southeast with the Esquires Combo on weekends, while working at the hospital during the week. A former patient and mutual friend of Sledge and record producer Quin Ivy introduced the two. An audition followed, and Sledge was signed to a recording contract.  Sledge's soulful voice was perfect for the series of soul ballads produced by Ivy and Marlin Greene, which rock critic Dave Marsh called "emotional classics for romantics of all ages". "When a Man Loves a Woman" was Sledge's first song recorded under the contract, and was released in March 1966. According to Sledge, the inspiration for the song came when his girlfriend left him for a modelling career after he was laid off from a construction job in late 1965, and, because bassist Calvin Lewis and organist Andrew Wright helped him with the song, he gave all the songwriting credits to them. It reached No. 1 in the US and went on to become an international hit. When a Man Loves a Woman" was a hit twice in the UK, reaching No. 4 in 1966 and, on reissue, peaked at No. 2 in 1987. The song was also the first gold record released by Atlantic Records. The soul anthem became the cornerstone of Sledge's career, and was followed by "Warm and Tender Love" (covered by British singer Elkie Br

user: What was his first job?

assistant: He worked in a series of agricultural jobs in the fields in Leighton before

user: When did he get into music?

assistant: Through the mid-1960s, he toured the Southeast with the Esquires Combo on weekends,

user: Did he go to college?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: How did he get discovered?

assistant: A former patient and mutual friend of Sledge and record producer Quin Ivy introduced the two.

user: Was he a doctor?

assistant: an orderly at Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama.

user: How long was he there?

assistant: he was laid off from a construction job in late 1965,

user: What did he do after that?

assistant: When a Man Loves a Woman" was Sledge's first song recorded under the contract, and was released in March 1966.

user: What job did he have as a teenager?

assistant: a series of agricultural jobs

user: Was getting into music a dream of his?

assistant: Sledge's soulful voice was perfect for the series of soul ballads produced by Ivy and Marlin Greene,

user: Did he ever get into any trouble?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: Did he ever have any money troubles?

assistant: When a Man Loves a Woman" was a hit twice in the UK, reaching No. 4 in 1966 and, on reissue, peaked at No. 2 in 1987.