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DEWEY LYNDON "SPOONER" OLDHAM



A native of Center Star, Spooner Oldham gained his first recording experience as a member of the rhythm section at Fame Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals. It was there that he met songwriting partner Dan Penn.

As a studio musician, Oldham spent significant periods of his career working in Muscle Shoals, Memphis, Nashville and California. Oldham's sparse keyboard performances can be heart on recordings by Percy Sledge, James and Bobby Purify, Clarence Carter, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Maria Muldaur, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Neil Young, Dan Penn, and many others. He has also toured extensively with artists such as Dylan and Young.

As a songwriter, he and Penn wrote "I'm Your Puppet" for James and Bobby Purify, "She Ain't Gonna Do Right" for Clarence Carter, "Sweet Inspiration" for the Sweet Inspirations, and "Out Of Left Field" for Percy Sledge.

Chart Songs as a Songwriter


Song Title Recording Artist Chart* Year
Cry Like A Baby Box Tops 2 1968
Lonely Women Make Good Lovers Bob Luman 4 1972
Lonely Women Make Good Lovers Steve Wariner 4 1984
I'm Your Puppet James & Bobby Purify 5 1966
Sweet Inspiration Sweet Inspirations 5 1968
Another Night Of Love Freddy Weller 5 1971
It Tears Me Up Percy Sledge 7 1966
Take Me Just As I Am Solomon Burke 11 1967
She Loves Me Right Out Of My Mind Freddy Weller 11 1973
Let's Do It Over Joe Simon 13 1965
Sweet Inspiration Barbara Streisand 15 1972
I'll Be Your Everything Percy Sledge 15 1974
Up Tight Good Man Laura Lee 16 1968
Roadmaster Freddy Weller 17 1972
Love Got In The Way Freddy Weller 23 1978
Out Of Left Field Percy Sledge 25 1967
Wish You Didn't Have To Go James & Bobby Purify 27 1967
Let It Happen James Carr 30 1967
In The Same Old Way Bobby Bare 34 1966
*Chart position is based on Billboard Magazine Pop, Country, R&B, & A/C Charts. Other music industry charts may have shown higher chart positions.


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