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Percy Sledge, Soul Music Legend, Dies at 74

The "When a Man Loves a Woman" crooner passed away in Louisiana of natural causes.

Legendary R&B singer Percy Sledge, best known for singing the classic song "When a Man Loves a Woman," has died at the age of 74.

According to the Associated Press, the crooner passed away on Tuesday morning (April 14), about an hour after midnight, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, of natural causes. He was in hospice care during his final days.

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Sledge's debut single, "When a Man Loves a Woman," hit No. 1 in 1966 and has since appeared in several movie soundtracks. The song soared to new heights for a different generation when it was covered by Michael Bolton, whose version also topped the charts in 1991.

Though it became his most notable hit, "When a Man Loves a Woman" was not the birth and death of Sledge's music career. He had a handful of other hits between the two years of his then-burgeoning career, including "Warm and Tender Love," "It Tears Me Up," "Out of Left Field" and "Take Time to Know Her."

Sledge was even inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Percy Sledge's family, friends and fans at this time.

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(Photo: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

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