Spooner Oldham


Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham 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".
As a songwriter, Oldham teamed with Dan Penn to write such hits as "Cry Like a Baby", "I'm Your Puppet", and "A Woman Left Lonely" and "It Tears Me Up".

Biography

A native of Center Star, Alabama, United states, Oldham started by playing piano in bands during high school. He then attended classes at the University of North Alabama but turned instead to playing at FAME Studios. He moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1967 and teamed with Penn at Chips Moman's American Studios.
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, and Frank Black.
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 and backed Crosby Stills Nash & Young on their 2006 Freedom of Speech tour.
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.
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.
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Spooner Oldham among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

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.

Collaborations

With Shelby Lynne
With Steve Cropper
With Neil Young
With Billy Ray Cyrus
With Rita Coolidge
With Linda Ronstadt
With Wilson Pickett
With John Prine
With Jennifer Warnes
With Aretha Franklin
With Dan Penn
With Jewel
With Bob Seger
With Jackson Browne
With Tony Joe White
With Sheryl Crow
With J. J. Cale
With Amos Lee
With Josh Groban
With Maria Muldaur
With Bob Dylan
With Keith Richards
With Boz Scaggs