Spooner Oldham
{{short description|American songwriter (born 1943)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Spooner Oldham
| image = Spooner Oldham in 2009.jpg
| image_size =
| landscape =
| alt = Oldham in 2009 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
| caption = Oldham in 2009 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = Dewey Lindon Oldham Jr.
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|6|14}}
| birth_place = Center Star, Alabama
United States
| origin =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| genre = {{hlist|R&B|soul|rock}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Songwriter|session musician}}
| instrument = {{hlist|Keyboards}}
| years_active = 1960s–present
| label =
| associated_acts = {{hlist|FAME Studios|Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section|Dan Penn|Neil Young}}
| website = {{website|spooneroldhammusic.com}}
}}
Dewey "Spooner" Lindon Oldham Jr. (born June 14, 1943){{Cite web|url=https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/spooner-oldham|title=Spooner Oldham's Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives|website=Concertarchives.org|access-date=2 October 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://lightintheattic.net/artists/1091-spooner-oldham|title=spooner oldham|website=Light In The Attic Records|access-date=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).{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p111101 |tab=biography |pure_url=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.{{Cite web|url=http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2510|title=Spooner Oldham|website=Encyclopedia of Alabama|access-date=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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nodepression.com/dan-penn-and-spooner-oldham-old-souls/|title = Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham - Old souls|website=Nodepression.com|date = January 2006}}
Oldham started his career in music by playing piano in a Dixieland jazz band while at Lauderdale County High School.{{Cite web|url=https://www.al.com/birmingham-box-set/2013/08/post_30.html|title=Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Spooner Oldham relives "Muscle Shoals"|first=Blake|last=Ells|date=22 August 2013|website=Al.com|access-date=3 August 2023}} He then attended classes at the University of North Alabama but turned instead to playing at FAME Studios.{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=918}} He moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1967 and teamed with Penn at Chips Moman's American Studios.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music-good-ol-boys-in-the-hood-1123527.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music-good-ol-boys-in-the-hood-1123527.html |archive-date=2022-05-24 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Music: Good ol' boys in the hood |first=Nick |last=Hasted |newspaper=The Independent |date=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.{{cite web |url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/spooner-oldham/bio/ |title=Spooner Oldham Biography |work=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=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.{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Arthur-Alexander-Lonely-Just-Like-Me/release/3791509 |title=Arthur Alexander "Lonely Just Like Me"|website=Discogs.com |date=30 March 1993 |access-date=14 June 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Arthur-Alexander-Lonely-Just-Like-Me-The-Final-Chapter/release/1440478|title=Arthur Alexander "Lonely Just Like Me - The Final Chapter" |website=Discogs.com|access-date=14 June 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.stereophile.com/content/arthur-alexander-lonely-just-me|title=Arthur Alexander "Lonely Just Like Me"|website=Stereophile.com|date=15 July 2017|access-date=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.[https://www.missingpiecegroup.com/pegi-young Pegi Young] missingpiecegroup.com Retrieved 15 April 2025
Oldham worked with Scottish singer, Sharleen Spiteri on an album.{{Cite news |date=2024-03-27 |title=Texas star Sharleen Spiteri finds magic in Muscle Shoals |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68579098 |access-date=2024-03-27 |language=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.{{cite news |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/28/3964796/6-slated-for-alabama-music-hall.html |title=6 slated for Alabama Music Hall of Fame |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Miami Herald |date=28 February 2014}}
Solo album
Collaborations
{{BLP unsourced section|date=March 2020}}
With Arthur Alexander
- 1962: You Better Move On[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/arthur-alexander-mn0000931202#biography Arthur Alexander] allmusic Retrieved 14 April 2025 (Dot Records)
- 1993: Lonely Just Like Me (Elektra)
With Aretha Franklin
- Aretha Arrives (Rhino Records, 1967)
- Lady Soul (Rhino Records, 1968)
- Aretha Now (Atlantic Records, 1968)
- Soul '69 (Atlantic Records, 1969)
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 the Box Tops
- Cry Like a Baby (Mala Records, 1968)
With Maria Muldaur
- Maria Muldaur (Reprise Records, 1973)
- Waitress in a Donut Shop (Reprise Records, 1974)
With Bob Seger
- Beautiful Loser (Capitol Records, 1975)
With Rita Coolidge
- Rita Coolidge (A&M Records, 1971)
With Jackson Browne
- For Everyman (Asylum Records, 1973)
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)
- Harvest Moon (Reprise Records, 1992)
- Unplugged (Reprise Records, 1993)
- Silver & Gold (Reprise Records, 2000)
- Road Rock Vol. 1 (Reprise Records, 2000)
- Prairie Wind (Reprise Records, 2005)
With Linda Ronstadt
- Don't Cry Now (Asylum Records, 1973)
With Jennifer Warnes
- Jennifer (Reprise Records, 1972)
With Billy Ray Cyrus
- The SnakeDoctor Circus (BBR, 2019)
With John Prine
- Aimless Love (Oh Boy Records, 1984)
- A John Prine Christmas (Oh Boy Records, 1994)
With Dan Penn
- Nobody's Fool (Bell Records, 1973)
- Do Right Man (Sire Records, 1994)
- Moments From This Theatre (Proper American, 1999){{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Dan-Penn-And-Spooner-Oldham-Moments-From-This-Theatre/master/678955|title=Dan Penn And Spooner Oldham - Moments From This Theatre|website=Discogs.com|date=1999 |access-date=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 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 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){{Cite web|url=https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/peter-parcek-mississippi-suitcase-album-review/|title=Peter Parcek – Mississippi Suitcase | Album Review|first=Marty|last=Gunther|website=Bluesblastmagazine.com|date=11 November 2020 |access-date=April 5, 2021}}
With Texas
- The Muscle Shoals Sessions (PIAS, 2024) {{Cite web|url=https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/entertainment/music/texas-the-muscle-shoals-sessions/|title=Texas announce brand new album 'The Muscle Shoals Sessions'|website=Planetradio.co.uk}}
With Kate Campbell
- For the Living of These Days (Fame Studios, 2006){{Cite web|title=For The Living Of These Days |date=7 February 2016 |url=http://www.katecampbell.com/music/for-the-living-of-these-days/ |access-date=July 11, 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Rockhall}}
- {{Discogs artist}}
- {{IMDb name|1315410}}
- [http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/spooner-oldham Spooner Oldham Interview] at NAMM Oral History Collection (2017)
{{2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|state=collapsed}}
{{The Stray Gators}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldham, Spooner}}
Category:American session musicians
Category:Songwriters from Alabama
Category:Rock musicians from Alabama
Category:People from Lauderdale County, Alabama
Category:Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section members
Category:Drive-By Truckers members
Category:American rock keyboardists
Category:American rock pianists
Category:American male pianists
Category:American male organists
Category:Rhythm and blues pianists
Category:American soul keyboardists
Category:20th-century American pianists
Category:21st-century American keyboardists
Category:21st-century American pianists
Category:21st-century American organists
Category:20th-century American male musicians
Category:21st-century American male musicians
Category:20th-century American keyboardists
Category:Proper Records artists