Percy Sledge's rich brand of country-soul music has lasted generations. The gifted Alabama-born singer came up in the Esquires Combo vocal group before going solo in '66. He hit No. 1 on the pop and R&B charts that year with a heart-bursting ballad that revealed his uncanny ability to convey yearning in a song. Though he had fewer hits into the '70s, his fame never waned in Europe and South Africa, where he toured regularly. His '94 album Blue Night earned a GRAMMY® nomination, and in 2005 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died in 2015 at the age of 74.