When A Man Hasn’t Got Her Forwarding Address

It was way back in 1966 when Percy Sledge became a star with “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Here’s how it happened, according to Musician magazine:

One day, a friend told Sledge that his girlfriend had left him for another man. That night, he broke down during his performance “and fell into a catharsis on stage, screaming, ‘Why did you leave me, baby?’ over and over.”

A record producer in the audience asked Sledge to write a song about his feelings. “So I just thought about what happens when a man loves a woman,” Sledge recalled, “what all he’ll do - sleep out in the rain, give her his last dime - and all the words just came out of me like that.”

By the way, his girlfriend really didn’t two-time him; she just moved to Newark, N.J., without letting him know.

Loose talk

Alanis Morissette, on her image: “I’ve been told a few times that I don’t look like my songs. People expect me to have purple hair and a pierced nose and boobs. I hate to let anyone down, but I’m not the cleavage sort of aesthetic babe.”

This guy used to be a really big star? Oh, brother!

Donny Osmond turns 38 today.

College kids sure are clumsy these days

Outspoken female rocker Liz Phair said she decided to attend Oberlin College because it was “the most offensive thing to my parents,” who were “keen on the Ivy League.” When she visited Oberlin to check it out, “People were tripping and throwing sponges at Republicans. I thought it looked like fun.”

So all she really has to do is act naturally

Even more outspoken female rocker Courtney Love has landed a movie role as Larry Flint’s wife, Althea, in a forthcoming film bio of the Hustler magazine publisher (who’ll be portrayed by Woody Harrelson). Althea drowned, drug-addicted and AIDS-ridden, at age 33 in 1987.

They don’t call them mavericks for nothing

Customary wedding attire is being “discouraged” during today’s Las Vegas ceremony for Kim Parker and Nick Kane, guitarist in the country-rock group The Mavericks. The nuptials will feature an Elvis Presley impersonator, pawn shop rings and a hot rod convertible.

It’s one gift guaranteed to fit like a clove

Friends of country crooner Randy Travis are in for some fragrant surprises in their Christmas stockings. Travis and his wife, Elizabeth, purchased more than 200 garlic gifts from the Garlic Festival Store and Gallery in Gilroy, Calif. Said a spokesperson: “They truly believe in the healing powers of it.”

And now it’s, how do you say, free as a bird

Linda McCartney, an avowed vegetarian along with hubby Paul, paid more than $4,500 to save the life of a 28-pound turkey at an annual gobbler and goose auction for British children’s and cancer charities. Said Ms. McCartney: “Everyone should think about doing something like this and try to have a kinder Christmas.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color photos

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino