Spooner Oldham

Spooner Oldham
Oldham in 2009 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Background information
Birth name	Dewey Lindon Oldham Jr.
Born	(1943-06-14) June 14, 1943 Center Star, Alabama United States
Genres	R&B soul rock
Occupations	Songwriter session musician
Instrument	Keyboards
Years active	1960s–present
Website	spooneroldhammusic.com

Dewey "Spooner" Lindon Oldham Jr. (born June 14, 1943) 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).

Biography

Oldham is a native of Center Star, Alabama, United States. 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.

Oldham started his career in music by playing piano in a Dixieland jazz band while at Lauderdale County 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, 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.

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.

Oldham worked with Scottish singer, Sharleen Spiteri on an album.

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.

Solo album

Pot Luck (Family Productions, 1972)

Collaborations

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)
• 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 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)
• 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)

With Texas

• The Muscle Shoals Sessions (PIAS, 2024)

With Kate Campbell

• For the Living of These Days (Fame Studios, 2006)

External links

• "Spooner Oldham". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• Spooner Oldham discography at Discogs
• Spooner Oldham at IMDb
• Spooner Oldham Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2017)