Lors d’une soirée très arrosée, Sledge se lance dans une improvisation qui impressionne le parolier Quin Ivy qui se trouve dans la salle. Il lui fait retravailler le morceau qui deviendra le célèbre « When a Man Loves a Woman ». Ivy flaire le potentiel et démarche la maison de disques Atlantic. C’est ainsi que la chanson deviendra n°1 aux États-Unis en mai 1966.
Percy Sledge est un chanteur de soul américain né le 25 novembre 1941 à Leighton, dans l'Alabama, auteur et interprète d’un des morceaux les plus célèbres de ce genre musical « When a Man Loves a Woman ».

When a man loves a woman
Can't keep his mind on nothing else
He'll trade the world
For the good thing he's found
If she's bad he can't see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he put her down
When a man loves a woman
Spend his very last dime
Trying to hold on to what he needs
He'd give up all his comfort
Sleep out in the rain
If she said that's the way it ought to be
Well, this man loves a woman
I gave you everything I had
Trying to hold on to your precious love
Baby, please don't treat me bad
When a man loves a woman
Down deep in his soul
She can bring him such misery
If she plays him for a fool
He's the last one to know
Loving eyes can't ever see
When a man loves a woman
He can do no wrong
He can never own some other girl
Yes when a man loves a woman
I know exactly how he feels
'Cause baby, baby, baby, you're my world
When a man loves a woman