Happy birthday to the legendary songwriter and first-class session and touring musician Dewey Lindon ‘Spooner’ Oldham.
How renowned is Spooner Oldham?
Put it this way. Since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame created the sideman, or Award for Musical Excellence category in 2000 to honour such contributions, Spooner Oldham was an immediate consideration and the 15th inductee in the hallowed forum.
For Spooner Oldham, it all goes back to his ‘sweet home’ in Center Star, Alabama where he began to play piano in school after being inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and ‘Great Balls of Fire’. This introduction to music led to Oldham playing with some high school bands where he first met another up and coming musician named Roger Hawkins. Managed by Hawkins’ father Oldham’s first group got a taste of paid music gigs. From that point on there was no turning back.
After a brief stint at University of North Carolina, Spooner Oldham opted to join a talented group of musicians at FAME Studios in Muscle Sholas, Alabama where by the early to mid ‘60s he once again joined Roger Hawkins to become an occasional member of the band of session musicians known as ‘The Swampers’. This group that was founded by Rick Hall included Barry Beckett on keyboards, Roger Hawkins on drums, David Hood on bass and Jimmy Johnson guitar. They were joined on occasion by a group that included Chips Moman, Junior Lowe, Tommy Cogbill and Pete Carr on guitar and Spooner Oldham on organ and piano. Junior Lowe along with Hawkins and Oldham represented three quarters of the high school band I mentioned previously. These guys went way back. One other key player within this group was guitarist/songwriter Dan Penn. Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn went on to write many songs together over the years and enjoyed some fascinating musical collaborations.
When I opted to pay tribute to Spooner Oldham in today’s feature, I had a decision to make. I could write a lengthy biography that attempts to encapsulate a career that is nearing sixty years, or I could present a reasonable sample of his contribution to music through his session work, songwriting and impressive efforts as a sideman on many tours. When in doubt, Ted Tocks Covers aims to let the music do the talking. So, sit back and enjoy a wide angle shot of Spooner Oldham’s career.
Warning: Many music legends will follow…Enjoy!
One of Spooner Oldham’s earliest recordings was the stunning organ track on Percy Sledge’s timeless classic ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’ released in March of 1966.
Oldham’s adaptability was immediately apparent. He swiftly became one of Rick Hall’s go to players at FAME Studios. Along with Jimmy Johnson, Junior Lowe and Roger Hawkins they played on Wilson Pickett’s 1966 classics Land of 1000 Dances and Mustang Sally. This connection led to recordings alongside the immortal Aretha Franklin in 1967. Here is a cover of the Rolling Stones classic ‘Satisfaction’ from 1967.
Later that year Aretha Franklin released ‘You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman’.
Within a couple of years, it became a well-known fact that to employ the players at Muscle Shoals was a gold ticket. In February of 1968, Etta James released the powerful ‘Tell Mama’. This would become her last hit recording. R&B at its finest.
We are going to take a brief detour here and discuss today’s lead in feature ‘Cry Like a Baby’. In the late ‘60s Spooner Oldham moved to Nashville to team up with Dan Penn and Chips Moman at American Studios. This combination led to some pretty special collaborations over the years, which includes a connection to The Box Tops. ‘Cry Like a Baby’ made it all the way to #2 back in 1968. It was the result of Penn’s efforts to follow up the rock and roll classic ‘The Letter’. Here is Spooner Oldham’s recollection of the songwriting process. This is so cool.
Dan Penn was producing The Box Tops, he had produced a #1 record called ‘The Letter’. He recorded that in Memphis when he and I were both living there. So, he calls me one day and says, “Spooner, will you help me try to write a song for Alex Chilton and the Box Tops?” He says, “People have sent me some songs, but I don’t think any of them really fit. This record company’s been after me about three weeks for a follow-up single.” And I said, “Sure, I’ll try to help write a song for you.” We got together in the studio one evening with our little notes of our five or ten best ideas or titles. We each pulled one out and they eventually ended up in the garbage.
The next morning, we were getting tired and decided to call it quits. So we locked the doors, turned out the lights in the studio, turned off the instruments. Went across the street to the little café – name was Porky’s or something like that – and ordered breakfast. I remember I was putting my head on the table. There was nobody in there, I don’t think, but us and the cook. And I tiredly put my head on the table, my arms under my head, just for a few seconds. Then I lifted my head up and looked at Dan, and because I felt sorry that he needed another record and we were no help to each other that evening, I said, “Dan, I could just cry like a baby.” And he says, “What did you say?” And I said it again. He says, “I like that.” So unbeknownst to me, we had a song started. By the time we walked across the street back to the studio, we had the first verse written. When we got in, he turned on the lights and the recorder, and I turned on the Hammond organ. He got his guitar out, and we put on a quarter-inch 90-minute tape, and we finished the song, just recorded a demo.The next day or two in the morning Alex Chilton came in. I was so tired and weary I didn’t know what we had, if anything. I played the little tape demo to him, and he smiled and reached out his hand, shook my hand, so I knew he liked it, anyway. And then we got in the studio and recorded it shortly, I think that day.”
Spooner Oldham
‘Cry Like a Baby’ features the great Reggie Young on guitar. One other note related to this song, and this always blows my mind…Alex Chilton was only 17 years old when he recorded this hit single. Mind boggling!
A year later, in 1969 Cher added ‘Cry Like a Baby’ to her album ‘3614 Jackson Highway’. This is a significant cover and album title because for those of you following the chronology of this post, this is the address of the famed Muscle Shoals Studios. Everything comes around in Ted Tocks Covers. Here is Cher’s cover version.
Another great song written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn was released by Janis Joplin on her last album, ‘Pearl’ in 1970. Here is the haunting ‘A Woman Left Lonely’ which includes the line:
Well, the fevers of the night, they burn an unloved woman. Yeah, those red-hot flames try to push old love aside. A woman left lonely, she’s the victim of her man, yes she is.”
Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham
Back to Spooner Oldham’s studio work, listen to the piano work on this powerful recording of The Eagles classic ‘Desperado by Linda Ronstadt in 1973.
If you are looking for a testimonial from an artist who attributes a certain degree of his success to his sidemen then look no further than Neil Young. Spooner Oldham and Neil Young go way back and Neil’s adulation for this musician is very clear. Young’s ‘Comes a Time’ release in 1978 is just one recording that features a solid contribution from Spooner Oldham.
This interview with Joe Chambers from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame shows some great live footage of Neil Young and his impressive touring entourage. It is a cool side stage view which feeds into a revealing interview with Spooner Oldham as he recounts his early days in music and the people who made his success possible. Great stuff.
In 1984, one of my favourite artists ever, John Prine was establishing an independent record label called ‘Oh Boy Records’, along with his manager, Al Brunetta. Prine was determined to take over artistic control and this venture was the perfect solution. The album ‘Aimless Love’ was the result. This album was Prine’s first album of original material since his 1980 ‘Storm Windows’ release. To his fans ‘Aimless Love’ was a much-anticipated release. Within the industry ‘Aimless Love’ raised some eyebrows because Prine’s approach was seen as somewhat unconventional. One of the truly beautiful things about this recording as we look back, is the fact that John Prine drew on a lot of friendships and personal connections to bring the album to fruition. It was early days for ‘Oh Boy Records’ but it all paid some major dividends. One of the many collaborations on this album was a song called ‘Me, Myself and I’ which was co-written with Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham.
For reference other key personnel on this album included Steve Goodman and Jim Rooney as producers along with players such as Roger Cook, Philip Donnelly, Bobby Whitlock, John Sebastian, Jennifer Warnes as well as additional songwriting collaborations with Shel Silverstein and Bobby Braddock. Legend…and always with a connection to todays’ feature.
Speaking of industry connections here is Pegi Young, who was Neil’s wife from 1978 to 2014. Through Neil, Pegi got to know Spooner Oldham and when she embarked on her own solo career in 2007, Pegi Young looked no further than he, to be her keyboard player. Here is her cover of the old Conway Twitty song ‘I’m Not Through Loving You Yet’ with her band The Survivors. I was fortunate to see this ensemble live in 2013. Quite a treat.
Here is yet another interesting connection. When legendary Stax Records session guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper decided to put out a cover album called ‘Dedicated: A Tribute to the 5 Royales’, in 2011, he needed a keyboard player. He looked no further than Spooner Oldham. Here is a cover of ‘Dedicated to the One I Love’ that features Lucinda Williams on vocals.
Brace yourself because this incredible. Canadian singer, songwriter guitarist and producer Colin Linden released ‘Still Live’ in 2012. It was a recording that captured a 2010 performance featuring Linden along with bass player John Dymond and Spooner Oldham on the organ. Just listen to this version of ‘I Give Up’ which is written by the multi-dimensional songwriter, drummer and producer Tom Hambridge. You may remember Tom Hambridge from my feature on the evocative Buddy Guy song ‘Skin Deep’. The chain of industry connections just keeps on adding links.
As we move toward a conclusion, enjoy this performance by the legendary Gregg Allman. This is called ‘Out in Left Field’ which was a song written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham back in 1968 for Percy Sledge. Remember, near the start of this post I mentioned Spooner Oldham played the organ on ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’? Well, Sledge enjoyed working with Oldham and Penn to such an extent that he included three of their songs on his 1968 album ‘Take Time to Know Her’. Nearly 50 years later Gregg Allman included ‘Out in Left Field’ on the album ‘Southern Blood’. This recording is important because it resides as Allman’s final recording before his passing in May of 2017.
To end today’s post where it began, here is Late Night bandleader and prominent keyboard player Paul Shaffer offering his induction speech for Spooner Oldham as he became a member in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the ‘side man’ category.
Considering the many, many greats that have resided in the role of side man or session player, the fact that Spooner Oldham exists as one of 25 side players speaks volumes to his six-decade contribution to music.
I encourage you to explore further. It is quite a musical trip.
Ted Tocks Covers 
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