Sheffield in Colbert County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Percy Sledge/Producer Quin Ivy
"When A Man Loves A Woman" / NORALA and Quinvy Studios
Percy Sledge
"When A Man Loves A Woman"
Hospital orderly Percy Sledge recorded 'When a Man Loves a Woman' at Quin Ivy's studio in 1966. Sledge's breakup with a girlfriend inspired the lyrics credited to songwriters Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright.
The release featured Marlin Greene (guitar), Spooner Oldham (Farfisa organ), Albert 'Junior' Lowe (bass), Roger Hawkins (drums), Jack Peck (trumpet), Bill Cofield (tenor sax), and Don Pollard (alto sax). Greene and Ivy produced the cut. At the request of Roger Hawkins, Ivy played the recording for Rick Hall, owner of FAME Studios. Hall felt it had hit potential and contacted Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler, who released it. The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was Atlantic's first certified gold record. Rolling Stone magazine ranks it number 54 among the best songs of all time.
Percy Sledge was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. Spooner Oldham followed in 2009. Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux, who sang backup on the hit, was inducted in 1994 with husband Keith Godchaux and other members of the Grateful Dead.
(side 2)
Producer Quin Ivy
NORALA and Quinvy Studios
Record store owner and WLAY disc jockey Quin Ivy established North Alabama Recording Studio (NORALA) at 104 E. Second Street in Sheffield in 1965. He purchased used equipment, including Ampex 351 and Berlant mono tape recorders and a radio station console. Ivy mounted egg cartons on the studio walls to deaden stray frequencies.
The first song recorded at NORALA was Florence native Donna Jean Thatcher's "I'm Out of Touch." Several months later Percy Sledge cut the classic "When A Man Loves A Woman." With proceeds from the Sledge session, Ivy completed a better equipped studio across town in 1968 and named it Quinvy.
Ivy also produced Tony Borders, Buddy Causey, Jeanie Green, Z.Z. Hill, Ben E. King, Mickey Buckings and The New Breed, Don Varner, the U.S. Male and the Wee Juns.
Erected 2014 by Alabama Tourism Department.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1966.
Location. 34° 45.583′ N, 87° 41.878′ W. Marker is in Sheffield, Alabama, in Colbert County. Marker is at the intersection of East 2nd Street and North Nashville Avenue, on the right when traveling east on East 2nd Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: East 2nd Street, Sheffield AL 35660, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); History of Sheffield (about 500 feet away); In Memory of Our Comrades of Sheffield (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Singing River Sculpture (approx. 0.2 miles away); Sheffield Colored School / Sterling High School (approx. half a mile away); Furnace Hill (approx. 0.6 miles away); Nitrate Plant No. 1 (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named Nitrate Plant No. 1 (approx. ¾ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sheffield.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on April 16, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 1,017 times since then and 22 times this year. Last updated on May 18, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 16, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.