Soul legend Percy Sledge has lost his battle with liver cancer at the age of 74. Sledge, who was perhaps best known for his classic track "When a Man Loves a Woman," died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The track served as Sledge's debut solo single following several years of playing with the Esquires.

Sledge revealed that he penned the track after he lost both his construction job and his girlfriend within a few months.

"I didn't have any money to go after her, so there was nothing I could do to try and get her back," Sledge recalled.

Sledge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and is survived by his wife and children.