MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (AP) β Percy Sledge’s recording career began in north Alabama in 1965, and sound engineer Jimmy Johnson was there for the start.
Johnson recorded Sledge’s smash hit “When a Man Loves a Woman” nearly 50 years ago, and he was saddened by Sledge’s death at 74 in Louisiana on Tuesday.
Sledge recorded the song in his first studio session. Johnson says it took many adjustments to get the song right, but it worked. Today, “When a Man Loves a Woman” is recognized as one of the greatest soul ballads ever.
The song propelled Sledge to stardom and helped his native northwest Alabama establish itself as a recording Mecca that drew Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers, Bob Seger and other top-shelf stars of the 1960s and ’70s.
