American soul singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Percy Sledge, died Tuesday at age 74, the Associated Press reports.
The R&B soul singer is known for his recognizable by his gap-toothed smile and for producing the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1966 “When A Man Loves A Woman, “ which was ranked No. 54 in the list of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest songs of all time.
The breakthrough single was a personal triumph for Sledge, the AP reports, as "it was the first No. 1 hit from Alabama's burgeoning Muscle Shoals music scene, where Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones among others would record, and the first gold record for Atlantic Records."
The song became a standard that sustained his long touring career in the U.S., Europe and South Africa, when he averaged 100 performances a year, and led to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
Sledge's death Tuesday, at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the result of natural causes.
Read the full Associated Press article here.