Percy Sledge: A Beautiful Life

ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1967, THE MACON, GEORGIA, office of Phil Walden and Associates, management and booking agents, was thronging with the most heavyweight soul talent in South — Joe Simon, Johnnie Taylor, Sam and Dave. Even though she was not on the books nor even a Southerner, Aretha Franklin was part of the Stax-Volt-Atlantic family of stars, and she’d dropped by too as everyone got ready for their weekend engagements.