Photo: Gene Pugh / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
Our Top 10 Percy Sledge songs list takes a look at the songs of a great R&B singer born in 1941 who had a massive hit entitled “When A Man Loves A Woman,” in 1966. The song would become Percy Sledge’s first and only number one hit of his career. However, Percy Sledge would celebrate a long successful career releasing music on a continuous basis all throughout the 1960s and 70s. Even in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000’s, the popularity of Percy Sledge’s 1966 hit “When A Man Loves A Woman,” would lead to periodic career revitalizations and new album releases. His long career would lead Percy Sledge to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
# 10 – Big Blue Diamonds
We open up our Top 10 Percy Sledge songs list with a great track from Percy Sledge’s last album entitled Shining Through the Rain. The album was released in 2004. The song was written by Earl Kit Carlson. This is a great one that sounds like it should have been released in the 1960s on Stax Records.
# 9 – Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)
Continuing our top 10 Percy Sledge songs list we turn to the classic song “Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms).” The song was written by Virgil “Pappy” Stewart. Percy Sledge recorded the song in 1967. The song broke the Billboard Hit 100 peaking at the number sixty six position. The song had been recorded by many other artists including a hit version released by Patsy Cline.
# 8 – My Special Prayer
The great Percy Sledge recording of “My Special Prayer,” has always been on e of our favorite Percy Sledge songs. The song was released on the Percy Sledge album entitled The Percy Sledge Way. The album was released in 1967 on Atlantic Records.
# 7 – True Love Travels on a Gravel Road
The song “True Love Travels on a Gravel Road,”is s true rock and roll classic first popularized by Elvis Presley who released the song on various albums. The song was written by Dallas Frazier and A.L. Owens. Percy Sledge recorded his great version of the song in 1969.
# 6 – It Tears Me Up
“It Tears Me Up,” was Percy Sledge’s third straight top 20 single released from his debut album entitled When A Man Loves A Woman. Like just about every other Percy Sledge recording, Percy’s vocal performance is off the charts on “It Tears Me Up.” The song was released as the third single from the record. It hit number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Billboard R&B Charts.
# 5 – Warm and Tender Love
As we enter the second half of our top 10 Percy Sledge songs list we turn to the follow up single to “When A Man Loves A Woman.” It always tough to follow up a number one single and its pretty rare that the follow up even comes close to repeating the success of a number one. Nonetheless, Percy Sledge’s follow up entitled “Warm and Tender Love,” would become a top 20 hit for Percy Sledge. The song peaked at number seventeen on the US Billboard Hot 100. It reached higher on the Billboard R&B charts peaking at number five in 1966.
# 4 – I’ll Be Your Everything
Percy Sledge’s “I’ll Be Your Everything,” is the singer’s last single to chart in the United States. The song was released in 1974. “I’ll Be Your Everything,” peaked at number sixty two on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was more successful on the Billboard R&B charts where it became a top twenty hit peaking at number fifteen. The success of “I’ll Be Your Everything,” revitalized Percy Sledge’s career and led him to being a big draw on the concert scene on a global basis.
# 3 – Sunshine
As we close in on our number one spot on our top 10 Percy Sledge songs list we turn to the great song “Sunshine.” This one is a little known gem released in 1973. The song was released as a single but never broke the Billboard Hot 100. It did however chart on the Billboard R&B charts peaking at number eighty nine. Its a shame this one is not more well known. This is a great one!
# 2 – Take Time To Know Her
Percy Sledge’s “Take Time to Know Her” was the second biggest hit of his career. The song was released in 1968.”Take Time to Know Her” was written by Steve Davis It just missed the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number eleven. However, the song did reach the top 10 of the Billboard R&B charts peaking at number six.
# 1 – When a Man Loves a Woman
We close out our top 10 Percy Sledge songs list with the obvious choice. When one mentions the name Percy Sledge they will often mention the song “When A Man Loves A Woman,” in the same breath. Percy Sledge never came close to having the chart success he had with “When A Man Loves A Woman,” with any other song. That’s not saying that he didn’t record a lot of great material. As we hope we have shown with this Top 10 Percy Sledge songs lists, there are so many great recordings out there for fans to enjoy.
“When A Man Loves A Woman,” was released in 1966. The song went straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B Charts. The song was written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright. Interestingly, twenty five years later in 1991 Michael Bolton recorded the song and also had a number one hit with it. However, it’s Percy Sledge’s recording that will always be the classic version. That vocal is as genuine and legendary as it gets.
