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{{short description|American songwriter}}

factoids

| birth_place = Center Star, AlabamaUnited States| origin = | death_date = | death_place = rhythm and blues>soul music>rock}}Songwriter|session musician}}Keyboards}}| years_active = 1960s–present| label = FAME StudiosMuscle Shoals Rhythm Section>Dan Penn|Neil Young}}spooneroldhammusic.com}}}}Dewey Lindon Oldham, Jr. “Spooner Oldham” (born June 14, 1943)WEB,www.concertarchives.org/bands/spooner-oldham, Spooner Oldham’s Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives, Concertarchives.org, 2 October 2021, WEB,lightintheattic.net/artists/1091-spooner-oldham, spooner oldham, Light In The Attic Records, 2 October 2021, is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on such hit R&B songs as Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman”, Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally”, and Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”. As a songwriter, Oldham teamed with Dan Penn to write such hits as “Cry Like a Baby” (the Box Tops), “I’m Your Puppet” (James and Bobby Purify), and “A Woman Left Lonely” and “It Tears Me Up” (Percy Sledge).WEB, {{AllMusic, artist, p111101, biography, yes, |title=Spooner Oldham Biography |first=Steve |last=Kurutz |publisher=Rovi Corporation |work=Allmusic |access-date=10 March 2014}}

Biography

Oldham is a native of Center Star, Alabama, United States.WEB,encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2510, Spooner Oldham, Encyclopedia of Alabama, 2 October 2021, He was blinded in his right eye as a child; when reaching for a frying pan, he was hit in the eye by a spoon he knocked from a shelf. Schoolmates gave him the name “Spooner” as a result.WEB,www.nodepression.com/dan-penn-and-spooner-oldham-old-souls/, Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham - Old souls, Nodepression.com, January 2006, Oldham started his career in music by playing piano in a Dixieland jazz band while at Lauderdale County High School.WEB,www.al.com/birmingham-box-set/2013/08/post_30.html, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Spooner Oldham relives “Muscle Shoals”, Blake, Ells, 22 August 2013, Al.com, 3 August 2023, He then attended classes at the University of North Alabama but turned instead to playing at FAME Studios.BOOK, Encyclopedia of Popular Music, The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin, Colin Larkin (writer), Virgin Books, 1997, Concise, 1-85227-745-9, 918, He moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1967 and teamed with Penn at Chips Moman’s American Studios.NEWS,www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music-good-ol-boys-in-the-hood-1123527.html,ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music-good-ol-boys-in-the-hood-1123527.html, 2022-05-24, subscription, live, Music: Good ol’ boys in the hood, Nick, Hasted, The Independent, 5 November 1999, Oldham later moved to Los Angeles and has continued to be a sought-after backing musician, recording and performing with such artists as Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Delaney Bramlett, Willy DeVille, Joe Cocker, the Hacienda Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, the Everly Brothers, Bob Seger, Dickey Betts, Cat Power, J.J. Cale, Frank Black, and The Mountain Goats.Frequently a backing musician for Neil Young, he played on Young’s critically acclaimed 1992 album Harvest Moon. Oldham also appeared in the concert film (Neil Young: Heart of Gold) and backed Crosby Stills Nash & Young on their 2006 Freedom of Speech tour.WEB,www.rockhall.com/inductees/spooner-oldham/bio/, Spooner Oldham Biography, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 10 March 2014, In 1993, he joined a host of Memphis soul music veterans to record Arthur Alexander’s comeback and un-intended final studio recording, the album Lonely Just Like Me.WEB,www.discogs.com/Arthur-Alexander-Lonely-Just-Like-Me/release/3791509, Arthur Alexander “Lonely Just Like Me”, Discogs.com, 30 March 1993, 14 June 2019, WEB,www.discogs.com/Arthur-Alexander-Lonely-Just-Like-Me-The-Final-Chapter/release/1440478, Arthur Alexander “Lonely Just Like Me - The Final Chapter”, Discogs.com, 14 June 2019, WEB,www.stereophile.com/content/arthur-alexander-lonely-just-me, Arthur Alexander “Lonely Just Like Me”, Stereophile.com, 15 July 2017, 14 June 2019, In 2007, Oldham toured with the Drive-By Truckers on their The Dirt Underneath tour. In 2008, Oldham played on Last Days at the Lodge, the third album released by folk/soul singer Amos Lee. In May 2011, Oldham backed Pegi Young on a six-show tour of California. Oldham worked with Scottish singer, Sharleen Spiteri on an album.NEWS, 2024-03-27, Texas star Sharleen Spiteri finds magic in Muscle Shoals,www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68579098, 2024-03-27, en-GB,

Awards

Oldham was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 as a sideman. In 2014, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.NEWS,www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/28/3964796/6-slated-for-alabama-music-hall.html, 6 slated for Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Associated Press, The Miami Herald, 28 February 2014,

Solo album

Pot Luck (Family Productions, 1972)WEB,www.discogs.com/Spooner-Oldham-Pot-Luck/release/3096986, Spooner Oldham “Pot Luck”, Discogs.com, 1972, 15 August 2020,

Collaborations

{{BLP unsourced section|date=March 2020}}With Arthur Alexander

• 1962: You Better Move On (Dot Records)
• 1993: Lonely Just Like Me (Elektra)

With Shelby Lynne

• Tears, Lies and Alibis (Everso, 2010)

With Steve Cropper

• Dedicated – A Salute to the 5 Royales (429 Records, 2011)

With Neil Young

• Comes a Time (Reprise Records, 1978)
• Old Ways (Reprise Records, 1985)
• Silver & Gold (Reprise Records, 2000)
• Prairie Wind (Reprise Records, 2005)

With Billy Ray Cyrus

• The SnakeDoctor Circus (BBR, 2019)

With Rita Coolidge

• Rita Coolidge (A&M Records, 1971)

With Linda Ronstadt

• Don’t Cry Now (Asylum Records, 1973)

With Wilson Pickett

• The Exciting Wilson Pickett (Atlantic Records, 1966)
• The Wicked Pickett (Atlantic Records, 1967)
• The Sound of Wilson Pickett (Atlantic Records, 1967)

With John Prine

• Aimless Love (Oh Boy Records, 1984)
• A John Prine Christmas (Oh Boy Records, 1994)

With Jennifer Warnes

• Jennifer (Reprise Records, 1972)

With Aretha Franklin

• Aretha Arrives (Rhino Records, 1967)
• Lady Soul (Rhino Records, 1968)
• Aretha Now (Atlantic Records, 1968)
• Soul ‘69 (Atlantic Records, 1969)

With Dan Penn

• Nobody’s Fool (Bell Records, 1973)
• Do Right Man (Sire Records, 1994)
• Moments From This Theatre (Proper American, 1999)WEB,www.discogs.com/Dan-Penn-And-Spooner-Oldham-Moments-From-This-Theatre/master/678955, Dan Penn And Spooner Oldham - Moments From This Theatre, Discogs.com, 1999, April 6, 2021,
• Something About the Night (Dandy Records, 2016)

With Frank Black

• Honeycomb (Cooking Vinyl, 2005)
• Fast Man Raider Man (Cooking Vinyl, 2006)

With Jewel

• Pieces of You (Atlantic Records, 1995)

With Bob Seger

• Beautiful Loser (Capitol Records, 1975)

With Jackson Browne

• For Everyman (Asylum Records, 1973)

With Tony Joe White

• Closer to the Truth (Festival Records, 1991)

With Sheryl Crow

• Threads (Big Machine Records, 2019)

With J. J. Cale

• 8 (Mercury Records, 1983)
• Travel-Log (Silvertone Records, 1990)
• Number 10 (Silvertone Records, 1992)
• Closer to You (Virgin Records, 1994)

With Amos Lee

• Last Days at the Lodge (Blue Note Records, 2008)

With Josh Groban

• Illuminations (143 Records, 2010)

With Maria Muldaur

• Maria Muldaur (Reprise Records, 1973)
• Waitress in a Donut Shop (Reprise Records, 1974)

With Bob Dylan

• Saved (Columbia Records, 1980)

With Keith Richards

• Crosseyed Heart (Reprise Records, 2015)

With Boz Scaggs

• Memphis (429 Records, 2013)

With Peter Parcek

• Mississippi Suitcase (Lightnin’ Records, 2020)WEB,www.bluesblastmagazine.com/peter-parcek-mississippi-suitcase-album-review/, Peter Parcek – Mississippi Suitcase &124; Album Review, Marty, Gunther, Bluesblastmagazine.com, 11 November 2020, April 5, 2021,

With Texas

• The Muscle Shoals Sessions (PIAS, 2024) WEB,planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/entertainment/music/texas-the-muscle-shoals-sessions/, Texas announce brand new album ‘The Muscle Shoals Sessions’, Planetradio.co.uk,

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

• {{Rockhall}}
• {{Discogs artist}}
• {{IMDb name|1315410}}
• Spooner Oldham Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2017)

{{2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|state=collapsed}}{{The Stray Gators}}{{Authority control}}